Weapons cache seized from alleged coup plotters in Germany

 

BERLIN – Berlin (dpa) – German authorities have seized hundreds of weapons and tens of thousands of pieces of ammunition during investigations against a right-wing extremist group that allegedly aimed to overthrow the German government.

So far, 362 firearms, 347 cutting and stabbing weapons and 148,761 pieces of ammunition have been found, the Justice Ministry said in response to a question by Green parliamentary member Marcel Emmerich which was made available to dpa.

The Reich Citizens, or Reichsbürger in German, with Heinrich XIII Prince Reuß as a suspected ringleader, intended to forcefully overthrow the political system in Germany and install a new government, according to the supreme court.

The group would have accepted deaths, the court said.

In December 2022, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office had more than two dozen suspects arrested in Germany, Austria and Italy, including former officers, police officers and a former parliamentary member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

According to the ministry, the investigations into the weapons seizures have not yet been completed, so the figures are preliminary.

A final assessment of whether individual objects are legal or illegal weapons or mere dummies was therefore not yet possible. The origin of the weapons found is also still the subject of the ongoing investigations.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the accused include one active and two former professional soldiers as well as four persons who are or were employed by the police.
As of the beginning of August, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office was investigating more than 60 people.