The trial of the “Roys Group” associated with the Citizens of the Reich begins and is accused of plotting a violent overthrow of the state. On the bench and a former member of Parliament of the AfD. From today, Prince Henrik the 13th of the House of Reuss sits on the bench at the Court of Appeal in Frankfurt, together with his like-minded people. They are more or less accused of plotting a coup with the aim of storming the Bundestag, seizing strategic infrastructure, overthrowing the German government and arresting top politicians such as Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Foreign Minister Analena Burbock and the head of the Christian Democratic opposition ( CDU) Friedrich Merz.

The trial is being held at the Court of Appeal in Frankfurt and, as a court representative tells Bild, “it is a challenge for everyone.” Even spatially. As the main courtroom is being renovated at the moment, the authorities had to build a new courtroom from scratch, in a suburb of Frankfurt, in order to start the proceedings on time.

Political polarization is dangerous

The allegations came to light in December 2022 when, in a large-scale coordinated operation, German special police forces arrested 25 suspects. Among them is the 72-year-old Prince Henry. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized. All this in a climate of dangerous political polarization, as far-right political forces and the Querdenker (“Those who think differently”) movement, which has grown in size during the pandemic and is said to be in contact with would-be coup plotters, are gaining strength.

Secretary of the Interior Nancy Feser calls for vigilance. “On this day, when one of the largest police operations against the Far Right is underway, we do not tire of repeating it: Polarization is intensifying. We must be able to defend our Republic every day,” Fezer said in December 2022.

Among the defendants called to account from today in Frankfurt is Birgit Malzak-Winkemann, a former judge and former member of parliament from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. She is said to have been anointed as Minister of Justice in a future “Reich Citizens” government.

“Deep State” for the usurpation of power?

A total of three mammoth trials are scheduled. The first already started at the end of April in Stammheim, Stuttgart, where members of the terrorist organization “Red Army Faction” (RAF) were once tried. The second, which focuses on the Reus team, begins today in Frankfurt. A third trial will follow in Munich in June. The would-be coup plotters are accused of “participation in a terrorist organization” and “high treason”.

German authorities estimate that the movement’s supporters number around 20,000, of which 2,300 are inclined towards violence and armed action. Common features of all are pro-monarchist views, distaste for parliamentary democracy, hatred of foreigners and anti-Semitism. Do they really represent a serious danger to Democracy in Germany?

Journalist and filmmaker Tobias Ginsburg, who spent eight months researching the ‘Citizens of the Reich’, told DW in March 2023 that “it is not easy to answer this question, because the ‘Citizens of the Reich’ are not a unified movement. It is more about a group of individuals who are linked by a conspiracy theory deeply rooted in German history and National Socialism.” But clearly, Tobias Ginsburg points out, this group shares the same fantasy as other representatives of far-right activism, “the idea of ​​a homogenized society without the other, without the outsider.”

Edited by: Yiannis Papadimitriou