"Reich citizen": Retired teacher is said to have led the group to kidnap Karl Lauterbach - arrested in Saxony

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Saxony arrested a suspected Reich citizen who, as the leader of a group, is said to have planned the kidnapping of Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD).

"Reich citizen": Retired teacher is said to have led the group to kidnap Karl Lauterbach - arrested in Saxony

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Saxony arrested a suspected Reich citizen who, as the leader of a group, is said to have planned the kidnapping of Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD). Elisabeth R. does not recognize the basic state order of the Federal Republic, the authority announced on Thursday in Karlsruhe. She therefore joined a group that wanted to destroy power lines in order to trigger a blackout and ultimately civil war-like conditions.

Germany should have a constituent assembly and an authoritarian system of government – ​​for the group, the German Reich continues to exist on the basis of the 1871 constitution. Four suspects believed to have belonged to the group had already been arrested in the spring. They are also said to have planned to kidnap Lauterbach by force and, under certain circumstances, to kill his bodyguards.

The group consisted of an administrative and a military part, the federal prosecutor said. Elisabeth R. held a higher position in the administrative part of the group. Above all, she was involved in attempts by other suspects to obtain weapons and explosives. She also tried to recruit new members who thought like her. She is said to have repeatedly called for "rapid implementation of the project" and written documents that were to be used in the planned actions.

In the spring, the four suspects Thomas O., Sven B., Michael H. and Thomas K. were arrested from different parts of Germany (the star reported). At the end of April, the federal prosecutor took over the investigation. Elisabeth R. was arrested on Thursday in the Mittelsachsen district, she said. There were searches on her and another person who is not accused.

R. should be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice on Thursday, who should decide on the execution of the pre-trial detention. She is strongly suspected of having participated as a ringleader in a terrorist organization and as an accomplice to have prepared a highly treasonable operation against the federal government.

Lauterbach thanked him after the arrest. He thanks "the colleagues" of the Federal Criminal Police Office, "who also risk their health every day for my protection," he explained on Twitter with a view to his bodyguards. To do this, he provided a link to a report on the operations.

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