it is thought heinrich viii, prince reuss, planned to install himself as head of a new german government, and had even chosen a cabinet of ministers. the plot was reportedly hatched here at his hunting lodge. it sounds extraordinary fantastical. but prosecutors say the group were serious, and extremely dangerous. they had set up a military arm, attempting to recruit from the german police force and army. most of those arrested today are believed to be part of the so called reichsburger movement. the citizens of the reich is a loose grouping of conspiracy theorists who refuse to recognise the modern german state and reject the authority of its government. the authorities here believe there are 21,000 of them scattered across the country, and estimate that 10% are potentially violent. the reichsburger have protested alongside covid deniers, anti vaxxers and followers of qanon. they were there two years ago
was a terror cell preparing to overthrow the german government. its members, they say, were prepared to kill to achieve their aim. translation: according to our findings, the association has - set itself the goal of eliminating the existing state order in germany. the free, democratic, basic order using force and military means. this german aristocrat is believed to be one of the ringleaders. it is thought heinrich viii, prince reuss, planned to install himself as head of a new german government, and had even chosen a cabinet of ministers. the plot was reportedly hatched here at his hunting lodge. it sounds extraordinary fantastical. but prosecutors say the group were serious, and extremely dangerous. they had set up a military arm, attempting to recruit from the german police force and army. most of those arrested today are believed to be part of the so called reichsburger movement. the citizens of
of conspiracy theorists who refuse to recognise the modern german state and reject the authority of its government. the authorities here believe there are 21,000 of them scattered across the country, and estimate that 10% are potentially violent. the reichsburger have protested alongside covid deniers, anti vaxxers and followers of qanon. they were there two years ago when a mob tried to storm the german parliament. politicians here were already worried. conspiracy theories including those espoused by the reichsburger have proliferated here in recent years, particularly during the pandemic. that has already led to violence. today, driving home once again just how potentially dangerous such disinformation can be. people here used to dismiss, deride the reichsburger. germany is learning they are far from harmless. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin.
happened. there is a big reassessment now of this reichsburger movement, it started backin reichsburger movement, it started back in the 80s and has been known in germany. it is translated as citizens of the empire. these people are often dismissed as eccentrics, they have their own passport, some set up their own states. they believe all sorts of different conspiracy theories, essentially just rejecting the modern democratic state. 0ver just rejecting the modern democratic state. over the last for years they become more radical, connected to the pandemic, because other conspiracy theories such as anti vaccination theories, have coalesced around the movement and the difficulty or danger of this movement is that there are some soldiers and police officers connected to this movement, and typically these people are armed,
it s believed there are 21,000 of them scattered across the country, and estimate that 10% are potentially violent. the reichsburger have protested alongside covid deniers, anti vaxxers and followers of qanon. they were there two years ago when a mob tried to storm the german parliament. politicians here were already worried. conspiracy theories including those espoused by the reichsburger have proliferated here in recent years, particularly during the pandemic. that s already led to violence. today, driving home once againjust how potentially dangerous such disinformation can be. people here used to dismiss, deride the reichsburger. germany is learning they are far from harmless. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. the bbc s damien mcguinness in berlin gave us more details. idea of a 71 year old minor