Wanted to start civil war
Perpetrators charged after planned Lauterbach kidnapping
A suspected terrorist group wanted to set up a regime in Germany based on the model of the “German Empire”. The perpetrators wanted to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
Published: 14 minutes ago
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The alleged terrorist group wanted to overthrow the system of government in Germany.
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a suspected terrorist group that is said to have plotted to overthrow the German government and kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. The four men and one woman are accused of preparing a highly treasonable act against the state.
This was announced by the Karlsruhe authority on Monday. The federal prosecutor’s office always steps in when terrorism or espionage is involved. The accused have been in custody since the access last year. The trial is to take place in Koblenz, a date did not emerge from the announcement by the federal prosecutor.
The investigators assume that the group came together by January 2022 at the latest – with the aim of “using violence and at least accepting casualties in Germany to trigger civil war-like conditions and thus bring about the overthrow of the federal government and parliamentary democracy”.
The kidnapping of Karl Lauterbach was intended to bring about conditions similar to a civil war
In their place, an authoritarian system of government based on the model of the German Empire should be established again. The plans would involve a prolonged nationwide blackout and the kidnapping of the health minister. To this end, the accused wanted to bring about “civil war-like conditions”.
The four men were arrested on April 13, 2022 at various locations in Germany. This was preceded by a meeting between one of the men and an undercover investigator about a weapons deal. A number of firearms and ammunition, cash, gold bars, silver coins and foreign currency were seized during Germany-wide searches. A little later, the federal prosecutor’s office took over the investigation. In mid-October, she also had a retired teacher arrested in Saxony, who is said to have held a higher position in the group. (SDA)