In a chilling reminder of the threats facing democracy, five individuals affiliated with a German far-right organization were sentenced for plotting to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and disrupt national stability through terror tactics.
Far-Right Plot to Kidnap German Health Minister Foiled: Five Sentenced
Far-Right Plot to Kidnap German Health Minister Foiled: Five Sentenced
A court in Germany has handed jail sentences to five members of a far-right group involved in a conspiracy to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and incite civil unrest.
Five members of a far-right faction in Germany have been sentenced to prison for their conspiracy to overthrow the government and abduct Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Four of the convicted members, described as key operatives of a "terrorist organization", formulated plans to incite civil conflict. Their intentions included kidnapping Lauterbach, known for enforcing stringent Covid-19 protocols, and potentially assassinating his security personnel.
According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, the defendants represented a significant threat to national safety. The Koblenz regional court found that the group, which formed in early 2022, also plotted to sabotage the nation’s power grid. The group comprised four men aged between 46 and 58 and a 77-year-old woman, who anticipated recruiting disgruntled security personnel to their cause.
The ringleaders received sentences ranging from five years and nine months to eight years, while a fifth group member was sentenced to two years and ten months after nearly two years of legal proceedings. Their identities remain undisclosed.
The group was linked to the Citizens of the Reich, a movement that insists the German Empire of 1918 is still in existence. Allegations point to Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, a German noble, as their leader, with influences drawn from the QAnon conspiracy movement, associated with certain factions in the United States.
In response to the court ruling, Lauterbach, representing the Social Democratic Party (SDP), expressed appreciation for law enforcement's efforts and emphasized the state's ability to protect itself from violent conspiracies. Faeser warned of the alarming implications of the group's plot, asserting that the security services acknowledge and tackle threats from the Citizens of the Reich, thus safeguarding democracy.
This sentencing marks a continuation of investigations aimed at far-right groups who refute the authority of the modern German state.
