A man involved in Germany’s right-wing extremist Reich Citizens’ Movement was sentenced to prison on Monday for plotting to stage a coup and kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
The 62-year-old was sentenced to two and a half years in prison by a regional court in Frankfurt after being convicted of participating in the preparation of high treason and membership of a terrorist organization.
He was convicted for being part of the so-called Kaiserreichsgruppe, a sprawling group of conspirators from the fringe Reich Citizens movement that allegedly plotted the violent overthrow of Germany’s democratic government during the coronavirus pandemic.
The group’s members are said to have drawn up a multi-stage plan: first they planned to destroy the country’s power supply through bombings, before kidnapping Lauterbach during a talk show. For this step, the group would have been prepared to kill the minister’s bodyguards.
Finally, they planned to introduce a system of government based on the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire.
Security authorities had been monitoring the group since late 2021, including with undercover agents.
The first suspects were arrested in April 2022 in a series of high-profile police raids. News of the alleged plot attracted worldwide media attention.
According to the chairman, the defendant convicted on Monday had led a comfortable life before running into financial difficulties, which were exacerbated by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
During this time, the judge said, “He lost himself in the confusion of the Internet.” Not believing that the German Constitution was legitimate, he reportedly developed an interest in various conspiracy theories.
The judge said he eventually came across a coronavirus support group, where he met a leading member of the Kaiserreich Group in December 2021.
The defendant agreed to, among other things, store the weapons necessary for the coup in his garage and assist with the power outage.
In his closing statement to the court, the man said he regretted his crime. He has been in custody for about a year.
A trial against five other suspected members of the group has been ongoing at a regional court in the western German city of Koblenz since May 2023.
