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TMI BlogGermany bans far-right 'Kingdom of Germany' group, arrests 4 of its leadersX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Germany bans far-right 'Kingdom of Germany' group, arrests 4 of its leaders X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r Reichsbürger, movement that claims the historical German Reich still exists and refuses to recognise the current democratic government or its parliament, laws and courts. Members also refuse to pay taxes or fines. About 800 police officers launched raids Tuesday on the group's properties and the homes of its leading members throughout the country. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, in annou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ncing the ban on the group, said its members have underpinned their claims to power using antisemitic conspiracy narratives that cannot be tolerated. “The members of this association have created a 'counter-state' in our country and built up economic criminal structures,” Dobrindt said. “We will take decisive action against those who attack our free democratic basic order." Among those arrested ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Tuesday was the group leader Peter Fitzek. He proclaimed the “Kingdom of Germany” in the eastern town of Wittenberg in 2012 and says it has around 6,000 followers, though the Interior Ministry says it has about 1,000 members The group claims to have seceded from the German federal government. “This is not about harmless nostalgia, as the title of the association might suggest, but about criminal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... structures, criminal networks," the minister told reporters later in Berlin. "That's why it's being banned today.” The group's online platforms will be blocked and its assets will be confiscated to ensure that no further financial resources can be used for extremist purposes, Dobrindt said. The group gave no immediate public comment, and generally declines to interact with media outlets. It's n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot the first time that Germany has acted against the Reichsbürger movement. In 2023, German police officers searched the homes of about 20 people in connection with investigations into the far-right Reich Citizens scene, whose adherents had similarities to followers of the QAnon movement in the United States. Last year, the alleged leaders of a suspected far-right plot to topple Germany's govern ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ment went on trial on Tuesday, opening proceedings in a case that shocked the country in late 2022. (AP) GSP X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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