German prince with links to Russia and QAnon arrested over plot to overthrow government

A German prince has been arrested in connection with an extremist plot to storm the Bundestag and overthrow the Republic. 

Masked police officers lead Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, front center, to a police vehicle during a raid against so-called 'Reich citizens' in Frankfurt - Boris Roessler/dpa via AP© Boris Roessler/dpa via AP

Some 3,000 officers swooped on properties across the country at dawn on Wednesday in one of the largest raids in modern German history.

Two dozen people were arrested, including the two suspected ring leaders of the alleged plot, Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss, 71, and Rüdiger v. P., 69.

Prosecutors say that Prince Heinrich, a distant descendant of the Dutch monarchy, was the head of a group that met in secret since at least November 2021 and which planned to appoint him as monarch.

Prosecutors say that individual members of the group had plans to storm the Bundestag, the seat of the German parliament, and that they were prepared to kill people to achieve their aims.  

Police secures the area after 25 suspected members and supporters of a far-right group were detained - REUTERS/Christian Mang© Provided by The Telegraph

The police raids on Wednesday morning took place at over a hundred addresses including a property in an exclusive Berlin neighbourhood, an aristocrat manor house and the barracks where Germany's elite army unit are quartered.

Arrests were also made in Austria and northern Italy.

Ms Malsack-Winkemann, 58, a former judge, is alleged to have provided the group with detailed information on the inside of the Reichstag building, according to a report in Der Spiegel.

Several former soldiers are among the suspects as well as a serving senior officer in the elite KSK, the German version of the SAS.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday that the raids demonstrated the "depths of terrorist threat" that the country faces, adding that the group appeared to be "driven by violent coup fantasies and conspiracy ideologies".  

Police officers stand by a searched property in Frankfurt during a raid against so-called 'Reich citizens' in Frankfurt - Boris Roessler/dpa via AP© Provided by The Telegraph

The suspected plotters, members of the Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement, had targeted soldiers and police officers to join their conspiracy, prosecutors say.

Plans to acquire weapons had already been made, while the group had started weapons training, the prosecutors said.

The group are said to have links to the QAnon conspiracy theory which influenced the protesters who attacked the US congress building in January 2021. 

Prince Heinrich 'made contact with Russia' 

Prosecutors say they believed that a secret “alliance” of intelligence agents from around the world had already moved into Germany and a plan to overthrow the “deep state” was imminent.

Prince Heinrich had also allegedly made contact with the Russian Federation, hoping that they would establish relations with his new government.

The prince’s younger wife, Vitalia B. is suspected of attempting to organise the contact with Russian authorities.

Prosecutors say that there is no evidence that the Russian government responded to his efforts.

The Russian embassy on Wednesday denied having any links to the organisation.

Among the group’s other alleged senior figures was Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a former member of the German parliament for the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) scene emerged in Germany in the middle of the last decade.

While the group were initially treated by the media as harmless eccentrics, it is alleged that evidence has emerged showing their affinity for weapons.

A member of a swat team was killed in 2016 in a shootout with a Citizen of the Reich member who refused to give up his arms licence.

In October of this year police swept in on another Reichsburger group whom they accused of planning a monarchist revolt.

That group was led by a 75 year old former teacher whom her acolytes referred to as “the countess”.