The self-styled prince at the heart of an alleged conspiracy-fuelled plot to attack Germany’s parliament and topple the government rejected the accusations made against him as his trial opened on Tuesday.
In all, six men and three women accused of belonging to or supporting the group face trial in Frankfurt in one of the biggest cases heard by German courts in decades. Prosecutors accuse the group, which includes a former politician and ex-army officers, of preparing a “treasonous undertaking” to storm the Bundestag and take MPs hostage.
The defendants filed into the purpose-built, high-security court in the western German city ahead of the proceeding.
One woman, wearing a hooded jacket, hid her face from journalists’ cameras with a file, while the alleged ringleader, Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, looked relaxed as he entered the room.
Reuss, a minor aristocrat and businessman, was in line to become the provisional head of state after the current government was overthrown, according to prosecutors.
Reuss’s lawyer Roman von Alvensleben told journalists outside the courtroom his client was “no ringleader, and not a member of a terrorist organisation” as suggested by prosecutors.
The sensational plan, uncovered by authorities at the end of 2022, is the most high-profile example of a growing threat of violence from the political fringes in Germany. The alleged plotters are said to have taken inspiration from “conspiracy myths”, including the global QAnon movement, and drawn up “lists of enemies”. They also belonged to the German Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich), a political movement of extremists and gun enthusiasts who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic.
According to prosecutors, the plotters believed Germany was run by a hidden “deep state” and were waiting for a signal from an international “Alliance” of governments to launch their coup.
The proceedings in the highly complex case, in which a total of 26 people face trial, are being held across three different courts.
Nine members of the group’s “military arm” went on trial in Stuttgart at the end of April.
A third set of proceedings is scheduled to begin in Munich in June.
![Policemen stand guard in front of a hall set up as a courtroom as one of the defendants (centre) arrives for the trial on Tuesday in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. I(AFP) Policemen stand guard in front of a hall set up as a courtroom as one of the defendants (centre) arrives for the trial on Tuesday in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. I(AFP)](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/05/21/179170.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Policemen stand guard in front of a hall set up as a courtroom as one of the defendants (centre) arrives for the trial on Tuesday in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. I(AFP)