German government bans extremist far-right organisation 'Reich citizen'

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt addresses a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday after authorities launched multiple raids against extremist outfit `Reich citizen`. PIC/AFP

The German government has banned the largest 'Reich citizen' group, an extremist far-right organisation that calls itself the Kingdom of Germany and seeks to undermine the country's democratic order. Four of its leaders were arrested, reported news agency AP.

According to the Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, the members of the 'Reich citizen' group have created a counter-state in the country and built up economic criminal structures. He further stated that the members of the 'Reich citizen' group underpinned their supposed claim to power with antisemitic conspiracy narratives, a behaviour that the country cannot tolerate.

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Dobrindt said, "We will take decisive action against those who attack our free democratic basic order."

However, since early Tuesday morning, hundreds of security forces in several states have been searching the association's properties and the homes of the leading members of the group.

Moreover, the Interior Minister stated that the 'Reich citizen', or 'Reichsbuerger' movement does not recognise Germany as a state. Many of them claim that the historical German Reich still exists and ignore the country's democratic and constitutional structures such as parliament, laws or courts. They also refuse to pay taxes, social security contributions or fines, reported AP.

"The so-called 'Kingdom of Germany' was proclaimed by its leader Peter Fitzek, who was among those arrested on Tuesday, in the eastern town of Wittenberg in 2012 and says it has around 6,000 followers," the interior ministry said in a statement. The group claims to be a counter-state that seceded from the German federal government, reported AP.

It is stated that the 'Reich citizen' group's online platforms will be blocked and its assets will be confiscated to ensure that no further financial resources can be used for extremist purposes.

It's not the first time that Germany has acted against the Reichsburger movement.

In 2023, German police officers searched the homes of about 20 people in connection with investigations into the far-right Reich Citizens group, whose adherents had similarities to the followers of the QAnon movement in the United States, reported AP.

Last year, the alleged leaders of a suspected far-right organisation who plotted to topple Germany's government, went on trial on Tuesday, opening proceedings in a case that shocked the country in late 2022, reported AP.

(With inputs from AP)