The second and most high-profile trial linked to a far-right coup plot in Germany begins on Tuesday, with alleged 72-year-old leader Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss appearing before a court in Frankfurt.
The prince will stand trial at the Supreme Court along with eight others. Federal prosecutors accuse them of joining or supporting a terrorist organization. They include former members of the German armed forces and a former MP from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
They are accused of being members of the ‘Reichsbürger’ network. So-called “Citizens of the Reich” believe that the modern German republic has unlawfully replaced the German Empire, which was founded in 1871 and existed under the Nazi regime until 1945. They reject the legitimacy of the modern German federal state and its laws.
The trial is the second of three massive trials surrounding the alleged coup attempt. At the end of April, a trial against alleged members of the group’s military branch began in Stuttgart. Other alleged members will stand trial in Munich from June 18.
The plot was discovered during a large-scale anti-terrorist attack in December 2022.
According to the indictment, the group began planning and preparing for “Day X” – the date of the coup – starting in August 2021.
Specifically, an armed group would infiltrate the parliament building in Berlin with the aim of arresting German politicians and then installing a new interim government with Reuss as head of state.
They would have accepted that they might have to sacrifice their lives to achieve their goals.
According to prosecutors, the conspirators were provided with approximately €500,000 ($543,000) and a large arsenal of weapons. Concrete preparations had also taken place, such as the recruitment of military personnel.
The suspects were united by a deep rejection of state institutions and the free democratic order, according to the federal prosecutor’s office, which has described the group’s ideology as “a conglomeration of conspiracy theories.”
The alleged leaders of the plot, Prince Reuss and Rüdiger von Pescatore, a former soldier who allegedly led the group’s military arm, are on trial in Frankfurt.
Reuss is descended from a noble family whose princely title carries no formal weight. The German monarchy was abolished over a century ago.
The contours of the structures for a separate state order would have been worked out, with Prince Reuss as head of state. The former Berlin judge and former AfD parliamentarian Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, who is also one of the suspects in Frankfurt, would have been the equivalent of the Minister of Justice.
Strict safety measures apply to the process. A lightweight metal hall with an area of approximately 1,300 square meters was specially built on the outskirts of Frankfurt.
According to the court, the defendants face a prison sentence of up to 10 years if found guilty of one charge. If they are found guilty multiple times and receive a total sentence, they risk a maximum of fifteen years in prison. The suspects are presumed innocent until a verdict is reached.
In addition to the trial in Frankfurt, other members of the group are also due to stand trial in Stuttgart and Munich before the respective higher regional courts.
The trial in Frankfurt alone is of unprecedented scale for the Higher Regional Court, court spokeswoman Gundula Fehns-Böer said. The indictment contains 617 pages.
Nine suspects, five judges, two counselors and no fewer than 25 lawyers will be present at the hearing. Ten people were originally scheduled to stand trial, but one of them died in a hospital in March, the court spokeswoman said.
On each day of the trial, approximately 260 witnesses will be called and 40 to 45 police officers will provide security. The court has scheduled 48 trial days through January.
