Five Germans have been jailed for plotting to overthrow the government and kidnap the country’s health minister. Sentences range from 5 to eight years.
Five jailed for plot to kidnap German minister
A German court has sentenced five members of a far-right group to prison for plotting to overthrow the government and kidnap the country’s health minister.
Four of them were described as the ringleaders of a “terrorist organisation” that planned to use violence to create chaos and push Germany into civil war-like conditions. Their target? Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, a key advocate of strict COVID-19 measures during the pandemic. The group even planned to kill his bodyguards if necessary.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the plot posed “an enormous threat” to national security.
The group, which formed in early 2022, also planned to sabotage Germany’s power grid as part of their strategy. They hoped their actions would inspire members of the security forces to join their cause.
A court in western Germany handed down sentences ranging from five years and nine months to eight years for the four ringleaders. A fifth member received a sentence of two years and ten months. The identities of those convicted have not been made public.
The group was linked to Citizens of the Reich, a movement that falsely believes the German Empire, which ended in 1918, still exists. Investigators say they were also influenced by QAnon, a conspiracy theory popular among some of Donald Trump’s supporters in the U.S.