Situation Overview
The recently foiled coup plot in Germany has raised concerns about the increasing threat posed by right-wing extremists against the German state. On December 7, 25 people were detained on suspicion of planning to overthrow the government. The coalition of far-right activists and ex-military personnel planned to storm the Bundestag and seize power. The main coup plotters referred to themselves as the ‘Patriotische Union’ (Patriotic Union or PU) and belonged to the Reichsbürger movement, which is a far-right extremist movement in Germany. The plotters established their own cabinet in preparation to run the government once overthrown. This was referred to as Der Rat (The Council). The movement sought to restore a monarchist system of government along the lines of the German Empire. Members of this movement aimed to instate Heinrich XIII, a member of a long-standing aristocratic family. Heinrich XIII is one of two alleged ringleaders among those detained following police raids in 11 German states.
The Reichsbürger Movement’s Plan
Although the Reichsbürger lacks centralized organization, they are thought to have at least 21,000 members. Their fundamental conviction is that the current Federal Republic of Germany, its institutions, and democratically elected officials are unconstitutional. Many adherents of the Reichsbürger movement are convinced that the Federal Republic is not a sovereign state but instead a corporation. Members of the movement refuse to submit to the will of the government, including paying taxes. Some adherents hold that the period from 1871 to 1918, when the Second German Reich/German Empire was founded following unification and prior to the First World War, to be the period during which Germany existed in its ‘true’ form.
The group's goal was to revive the German Empire. The plan was to stage an armed assault on the Bundestag, the German legislature, and seize the power of the government through extrajudicial arrests of lawmakers and federal officials, carry out executions, and purge government institutions of ‘disloyal’ officials. A prince descended from German nobility (Heinrich XIII) would take over as the new head of state. The PU had also planned to sabotage the electricity grid and stockpiled Iridium satellite telephones for this coup to communicate when the network electricity was down. The group had been planning this coup since November 2021. Prosecutors said the group planned to stir up chaos before the coup by making political arrests in public and planned to set up 280 armed units across Germany that would have been tasked with arresting and executing people after the coup. The PU believed that if the German security services had supported them, it would have resulted in an overthrow and given them the opportunity to seize power.
Members of the Patriotic Union Organization
More than 50 of the PU coup plotters were also members of the Reichsbürger movement. QAnon supporters and radicalized German Querdenken (lateral thinkers) movement members also participated in the coup. The Querdenken movement was founded in opposition to Germany’s COVID-19 measures; it now focuses on anti-vaccination. The Federal Public Prosecutor, Peter-Herbert Frank, detained 25 of the 52 individuals implicated in the plot. Twenty-three of those who were detained remained in custody until December 14.
The group also comprised of several former Special Forces Command (KSK) personnel, notably Rüdiger von Pescatore, a former lieutenant colonel of the Bundeswehr's Paratrooper Battalion. The ‘military arm’ of the organization was supposed to be led by von Pescatore. Together with Heinrich Prinz Reuss, von Pescatore is referred to as a ‘ringleader’ by the Federal Public Prosecutor. Von Pescatore allegedly made recruitment efforts for both army and police right-wing extremists. A former Oberst of Bundeswehr, which is a senior field officer rank equivalent to colonel, named Maximilian Eder; a former criminal police officer from Hanover named Michael Fritsch; and a former Oberst from Bayreuth named Peter Wörner, who founded a survival training company, were also members. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a judge and former parliamentarian from Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), a right-wing populist party, was also a member and arrested.
Response
Since March 2021, German police officials have been looking into the PU organization. Members of the PU have previously been investigated and arrested regarding a plot to kidnap German federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach, in April 2022. The coup conspirators primarily originated from the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, but also included individuals from nine other nations, including Austria and Italy. A former member of Parliament, aristocrats, and both former and current military personnel were detained. Celebrity chef Frank Heppner was taken into custody on December 7.
Heppner is accused of commanding the organization's military wing and overseeing the recruitment of new members, acquiring weapons, and setting up a safe communications network. According to prosecutors, the group contacted Russian officials seeking to establish a new order in Germany once the Berlin government was overthrown. Heinrich XIII is alleged to have initiated contact with a Russian woman, who prosecutors have named Vitalia B, to secure Russian support. She was also arrested alongside Heinrich XIII. Besides this, Russian officials have denied any involvement in the coup.
Outlook
The foiled coup plot highlights the growing threat of far-right extremism. The coup plot was modeled after the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021. The Reichsbürger movement is not the first far-right organization to plot a takeover, but the coup plot foiled on December 7 was larger, further along in the planning, and better connected with people trained with weapons. As a result of the failed coup, some legislators have called for Germany's gun rules to be tightened, but conservative members of parliament have been hesitant. Conservatives have also demanded investigations into whether media representatives were told in advance of the searches.
As several soldiers were involved and detained, law enforcement officials have raised concerns that this demonstrates dangerous extremists have access to weapons and trained soldiers. Individuals with connections to democratic institutions and access to vast financial resources were also among the coup plotters. This poses a threat if there were to be future coup attempts, as the group is considered dangerous, connected, and resilient. Surveillance and security operations targeting members and activities of the Reichsbürger movement will likely increase in the coming months. Given the groups resources, popularity, and high motivation future coup plots and anti-government actions remain possible. Several influential members of the group reportedly remain at large, with little evidence yet to justify their detention. Authorities are concerned that the recent arrests will spur nascent anti-government schemes among members of Reichsbürger movement into physical threats.
The involvement of foreign nationals also raises concerns over further threat of a potential overthrow, as well as the threat that any unrest in Germany could spread to neighboring EU countries. Coup plotters may ultimately plan to use Germany as a ‘staging ground’ for similar actions in neighboring states. However, Russia is unlikely to deepen its involvement in any future attacks due to Moscow’s focus on the Russia-Ukraine war. Russia will likely limit its potential involvement to indirect funding and/or access to intelligence assets, and support or disruption via cyber activity, which fits their current modus operandi amid the conflict in Ukraine.
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