Third trial in huge 'Reich Citizens' case begins in Germany

The third mammoth trial linked to the "Reich Citizens" extremist movement in Germany started in the southern city of Munich on Tuesday.

The trial concerns a group of suspects linked to Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss, who prosecutors say was a key figure in an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the German government.

Some defendants only partially covered their faces from the press cameras with a folder or newspaper at the start of the trial. Others were apparently indifferent to the presence of journalists.

Proceedings were briefly disrupted by heckling from the public gallery, but then the defendants all followed the reading of the indictment dispassionately, at most with an occasional slight shake of the head.

The Reich Citizens, or Reichsbürger in German, claim the historical German Reich of 1871 to 1945, with an emperor as head of state, is the country's legitimate form of government. As such, they do not recognize the current German government or its institutions.

The group was exposed following multiple raids in several German states and abroad in 2022.

In total some 26 suspects are alleged to have planned a violent overthrow of the German government, and according to the federal prosecutor's office, they accepted the risk of others dying in the attempt.

Reuss was to have acted as the head of a new form of government. He has denied being the ringleader of the coup plot.

The eight defendants in Munich are accused of membership in - and in some cases the founding of - a terrorist organization and the preparation of an act of high treason.

Four men also face charges of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, and one faces charges of violating the Weapons Act.

If convicted, they could all face long prison sentences.

Several of the defendants in Munich are said to have belonged to the so-called "council" of the organization - similar to a cabinet - or the leadership of the group's alleged armed wing.

Thomas T., for example, is said to have held the group's founding meeting at the end of July 2021. Ruth L. is also said to have been one of the founding members and recruited new members, such as the former AfD member of parliament Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.

According to the indictment, T. and L., who stated her profession at the start of the trial as "astrologer, but actually a pensioner", was responsible for the spiritual examination of new council members and the personal counselling of Reuss.

One defendant is said to have been responsible for procuring weapons and equipping members for the planned attack on the Bundestag.

According to the findings of the federal prosecutor's office, another was to take over military jurisdiction after a coup and judge criminal offences, including using the death penalty.

The lawyer G. was allegedly appointed to the "Council" for the Foreign Affairs department. Doctor R. was to be in charge of the Health department, and is said to have repeatedly lectured on the side effects of coronavirus vaccinations, according to the indictment.

Two trials related to the case already began a few weeks ago. Reuss and the alleged ringleaders are on trial in Frankfurt. In Stuttgart, the federal prosecutor's office has charged alleged members of the group's military wing.

The Munich Higher Regional Court has so far set 55 trial days for the trial in the Bavarian capital, running until the end of January next year.