25 people were arrested in raids across Germany on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.
According to reports in the German media, a group of right-wing extremists and former military personnel planned to storm the parliament building, the Reichstag, and seize power.
At the center of the program, allegedly, is a 71-year-old German man, known as a prince named Heinrich XIII.
According to the federal prosecution, he is one of the two leaders of the network and is included among those arrested.
6,000 police officers participated in the extensive operation that included 130 scenes in 11 of the 16 states that make up Germany.
The alleged co-conspirators include members of the extremist "Reichsbürger" movement, which is under surveillance by the German police for violent attacks and racist conspiracy theories.
They also refuse to recognize modern Germany.
Identity card of one of the detainees (photo: screenshot, Twitter)
The Reichstag building in Berlin (Photo: GettyImages, Andas Renz)
About 50 men and women were apparently part of the group that planned to overthrow the republic and replace it with a new state modeled after Germany in 1871 - an empire called the Second Reich.
The raids were conducted in Germany but two people in Austria and Italy were also arrested, according to German news agency DPA.
Interior Minister Marco Bushman tweeted that a significant anti-terrorist operation was conducted and "an armed attack on constitutional bodies was planned."
According to the federal prosecution, the group had been planning the violent coup since November 2021.
Four former military personnel also played a significant role in the plot.
These include former special forces soldiers.
Public television channel ZDF reported that a former far-right member of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, was also part of the plot and was to serve as justice minister in the new state, where Prince Heinrich would be the leader.
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