Detained German Extremists Planned to Copy January 6 US Capitol Attack: Reports

BERLIN (Sputnik) - Detained German extremists planned to storm the Bundestag, the nation’s parliament, in the manner that was employed by supporters of Donald Trump during the US Capitol breach on January 6, 2021, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.

According to the German Prosecutor General's Office, earlier in the day, police arrested 22 alleged members and three alleged supporters of a terrorist organization that was plotting to overthrow the existing government of Germany.

The group led by Heinrich XIII, Prince of Reuss, a 71-year-old German nobleman, had been preparing the uprising since November 2021, the German newspaper reported.

The team was supposed to take control of the Bundestag and arrest its members, according to the newspaper. This act was supposed to spark riots all over the country and lead to the creation of a transition military government under Heinrich XIII. This government, in turn, would have started negotiations on Germany’s place in the world with victors of World War II, namely Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

The group’s leader reportedly contacted representatives of Russia. However, investigators said that there was no evidence yet that any of those contacted had supported the extremists. The Russian embassy, in turn, stated it had no connection with any illegal groups in Germany.

According to the report, the group’s members signed a non-disclosure agreement stipulating the death penalty for violating it. They also bought Iridium satellite phones worth in total about 20,000 euros ($21,000) for communicating even without a working cellular service.

The conspirators were inspired by the far-right extremist group, Reichsburger (Citizens of the Reich), and the US radical community QAnon, which believes that Trump was allegedly fighting against the "global pedophile lobby."

So far, 25 arrests have been conducted in seven German states, as well as one in Austria and one in Italy. Houses and apartments of another 27 people are being searched by the police, according to the media.