Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup

FRANKFURT, Germany: A prince, an ex-MP and former soldiers were arrested on Wednesday in raids led by the German police against members of a far-right “terror group” that allegedly planned to attack parliament and overthrow the government.

The group had organised a “council” to take charge after the putsch, as well as a “military arm that would build a new German army”, chief federal prosecutor Peter Frank said at a press conference.

“Some members of the terrorist organisation also considered using force to enter the German Bundestag (parliament),” Frank said.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told public radio MDR he was “deeply concerned” by the alleged plot, describing it as a “new level”.

Around 3,000 officers, including elite anti-terror units took part in the early morning raids and searched more than 130 properties, in what German media described as one of the country’s largest ever police actions against extremists.

The raids targeted alleged members of the “Citizens of the Reich” (Reichsbuerger) movement, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

The prosecutors in Karlsruhe, southern Germany, said they had arrested 25 people, including one in Austria and another in Italy, and identified a further 27 people as suspected members or supporters of the network.