3 wild details of the plot to overthrow the German government
German authorities on Wednesday arrested 25 far-right extremists suspected of supporting a domestic terrorism group plotting to overthrow the country's government — and the details of the story are just as unbelievable as you might think.
A German noble and an ex-paratrooper were reportedly in charge
One of the scheme's supposed leaders — Prince Heinrich XIII — is actually a minor German noble from the House of Reuss, "which ruled over parts of the modern eastern state of Thuringia until 1918," BBC News reports. But Heinrich, who the relatively newly-formed group apparently planned to install as the leader of Germany, is notably estranged from the rest of his family, with a spokesman describing him over the summer as an "at times confused man" susceptible to "misconceptions fueled by conspiracy theories." The plot's second alleged ringleader — Ruediger v. P, as he was identified — is a former paratrooper "suspected of trying to recruit police officers in northern Germany and of having an eye on army barracks too."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The plot was rooted in QAnon and German conspiracy theories
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the group's members are said to subscribe to QAnon ideology — which, in short, alleges the world is run by a ring of Satan-loving (and often Democratic) pedophiles that Donald Trump worked to overthrow while president — as well as that of a German conspiracy organization known as the Reichsbürger, which rejects the legitimacy of modern Germany and believes the country is ruled by a "deep state." In executing a coup, the group hoped to "overcome the existing state order in Germany and to establish its own form of state, the outlines of which have already been worked out," prosecutors wrote in a statement. "The members of the organization were aware that this goal can only be achieved through the use of military means and violence against state representatives."
Someone reached out to Russia?
Per prosecutors, Heinrich — the minor German noble — had tried to contact Russian officials in hopes of negotiating "a new order in the country once the German government was overthrown," summarizes The Associated Press. He was reportedly assisted in these efforts by a Russian woman named Vitalia B. That said, there has been no indication that Russian sources responded positively to Heinrich's overtures.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Penile fracture risk higher over Christmas
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Confused man's front lawn is stolen
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published