Dobrindt bans "Kingdom of Germany"

Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has banned the currently largest known group of so-called Reich citizens and self-administrators. The "Kingdom of Germany" association claims to have around 6,000 followers across Germany. However, the security authorities estimate that there are only around 1,000 followers.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, more than 800 police officers searched buildings used by the association and the homes of leading members in Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia from the early hours of the morning. Officials from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority were also involved.

Four arrests

Four men were arrested, according to the Federal Public Prosecutor General. Among them is Peter Fitzek, a trained chef who, according to the security authorities, founded the association in Wittenberg in 2012. Two of the arrests were made in the district of Central Saxony, according to a spokeswoman for the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, and one each in the districts of Oder-Spree in Brandenburg and Bad Dürkheim in Rhineland-Palatinate. Searches were also carried out on a suspect in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. He is also said to be a German citizen.

The four arrested Germans are 37, 38, 46 and 59 years old, the spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office said.

Significance of the case

The investigation is reportedly being conducted into a criminal organization. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is not automatically responsible in such cases. With regard to the alleged ringleaders, however, the highest prosecuting authority in Germany had taken over the investigation due to its particular importance, the spokesperson explained.

Fitzek is therefore also accused of unauthorized deposit and insurance transactions. Another of the accused is said to have helped him with the deposit transactions. Dobrindt said: "Real estate was acquired, sub-organizations were founded, such as a so-called Royal Reichsbank or a so-called Deutsche Heilfürsorge, through which funds were raised."

Association created a "counter-state"

"The aim of this association is to establish a so-called counter-state and secede from the Federal Republic of Germany," said Dobrindt. The members of the association underpinned their supposed claim to power with anti-Semitic conspiracy narratives. A constitutional state could not tolerate such behavior. The minister emphasized that the members of the association were by no means "harmless nostalgics", but criminal structures.

The Saxon Ministry of the Interior referred to the association's violations of building law and trade law, among other things, which had been punished by the relevant authorities.

Scene consists of many mostly small groups

"Reichsbürger" do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany as a state. Many of them claim that the historical German Reich still exists today. So-called Reich citizens reject democratic and constitutional structures such as parliament, laws or courts. They do not want to pay taxes, social security contributions or fines. The scene consists of many, mostly smaller groups. Some "Reich Citizens" see themselves as the heads of state of their own little empire. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution assumes that there are around 30 groups active across federal states.

Largest "Reichsbürger" association

The "Kingdom of Germany" is currently considered to be the association with the largest number of members from the spectrum of so-called "Reichsbürger" and self-administrators. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimated that the scene had around 25,000 followers in 2023. In recent months, the "Reichsbürger" association around Heinrich XIII Prince Reuß, which is said to have planned a violent overthrow of the German government and deliberately accepted deaths in the process, has made the headlines. The group is being tried at the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court. Parallel proceedings are underway in Munich and Stuttgart.

It's also about money

"The defining characteristic of the "Kingdom of Germany" is its decidedly profit-oriented focus," announced the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Illegal banking and insurance transactions have been carried out via sub-organizations for years. Peter Fitzek, a native of Halle in Saxony-Anhalt, had declared himself head of state. He has already stood trial and been convicted several times. Among other things, he was accused of driving without a license and conducting illegal banking transactions. In March, a ruling by the Wittenberg district court became legally binding, which sentenced Fitzek to a total of eight months imprisonment for intentional bodily harm and insult. The court considered it proven that in March 2022, Fitzek first pushed a female employee against a wall and kicked her during a verbal argument in the Wittenberg district office building.

According to the Attorney General, Fitzek determined the ideological orientation of the group as the "supreme sovereign" and issued his own "laws". Two other detainees formed the top management level as his deputies. The fourth man was responsible for the finances.

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the ban is accompanied by the confiscation of assets and the blocking of the association's online platforms.