‘Terror granny’ accused of ‘plotting German civil war to bring back the Kaiser’

An elderly woman accused of being the ringleader of a terror cell plotting a monarchist revolution was arrested in Germany.

The cell allegedly wanted to kidnap the country’s health minister and attack the electricity grid to spark a civil war and restore the Prussian monarchy.

Elisabeth R, a 75-year-old retired teacher who was quickly nicknamed “terror granny” by the German press, was arrested at her home in the eastern state of Saxony.

On Friday, she was flown to Germany’s federal court, where she was photographed getting out of a helicopter carrying only a paper potato bag.

Prosecutors said that she was the leader of a group that wanted to overthrow democratic Germany and bring back the Kaiser.

The group allegedly planned to kidnap Karl Lauterbach, the German health minister, who is a hate figure among the far-Right because of his advocacy of strict lockdowns during the pandemic. 

Karl Lauterbach, the German health minister - Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP© Provided by The Telegraph

The group then planned to carry out sabotage attacks on the electricity grid with the intent of causing a blackout so severe that it would lead to “civil war-like conditions”, the arrest warrant stated.

Four other members of the group were arrested in April. Police found a Kalashnikov gun and a Nazi SS uniform in one of the suspect’s homes. 

Elisabeth R is accused of being both the spiritual and organisational leader of the cell.

She gave the other members deadlines for acquiring explosives and weapons, prosecutors said. 

‘Coup manifesto’ prepared

Pamphlets she had written were supposed to be spread among the public once their attempted coup attempt had been started, it is alleged.

It is unclear just how far the group managed to get in their alleged preparations.

A neighbour in the town of Floeha told Bild newspaper that Elisabeth R was a solitary person.

“I rarely saw her. She used to do gardening in the evenings wearing a headlamp,” the man said.

Elizabeth R reportedly lost her state pension over repeated public statements denying the legitimacy of the modern German state. 

Treaty of Versailles denial

According to reports in the German press, she was known as “the countess” inside the Reichsbuerger scene, a loose movement that seeks to bring back the Prussian monarchy.

She appeared to have co-authored long texts arguing that the Treaty of Versailles, which brought about the end of the First World War, was invalid, and that Germany is still legally a monarchy.

Berlin has identified a heightened threat from far-Right terror in recent years. In 2018, police broke up a neo-Nazi terror cell that was planning a “false flag” terror attack intended to create fear of migrants.

Reference: The Telegraph: Jorg Luyken