Germany's ban on far-right groups are related to the Imperial Citizen Movement
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt banned the prominent faction of the country's imperial citizen movement, the Kingdom of Germany, and four of them were allegedly detained in raids in several German states.
The group reportedly has about 6,000 followers and is accused of establishing an “anti-state” and establishing a “criminal economic structure.”
Four German men aged 37 to 59 were detained, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said, including Peter Fitzek, the founder of the group.
Later Tuesday, an investigative judge in the Karlsruhe Federal Court ruled that three of the four suspects would be held in a detention center, including Fitzker.
The fourth suspect will be brought to court in Karlsruhe on Wednesday.
Who are imperial citizens?
Imperial Citizens are inter-class terms used to describe a group of German residents who do not recognize the current government system.
The movement has no official structure and consists of several groups, currently the most outstanding “German Kingdom”.
Imperial citizens – or Imperial citizens – are often considered to be extreme rights, although these movements do not fully match.
Many followers of the organization believed that the German Empire, announced in 1871, still existed. They do not recognize modern democratic and constitutional structures, such as parliament, law or courts.
They also refuse to pay taxes, social security payments or fines.
Imperial citizen groups engage in violence and criminal activities and are being monitored by German domestic intelligence agencies as extremist organizations.
In 2023, the agency estimated that 25,000 people are part of the campaign.
Most prominently, the leader of a group surrounding Prince Heinrich XIII of Ruth – Prince XIII of Ruth – descendants of a noble German family whose title has no formal weight – was arrested in December 2022 for suspected planned coup.
Suppression 'kingdom of Germany'
The Kingdom of Germany group was founded by Fitzker in 2012 and was born in the eastern Saxony-Anhalt state.
Home Minister Dobrindt announced the ban, saying that members of the group used anti-Semitic conspiracy theories to support their sovereignty, adding that such behavior cannot be tolerated in countries governed by the rule of law.
Dobrindt explained that the group is more than just harmless nostalgia. It is building a “crime structure.”
According to the Ministry of Interior, raids began earlier on Tuesday on the property owned by key members, including Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Paratnat, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and the Thuringya.
It also said that the group has operated illegal banking and insurance businesses through affiliated entities for many years.
The Ministry said: “The German Kingdom is characterized by a profit-oriented focus.
Leader Fitzek has been allegedly convicted multiple times, including driving without a driver's license and conducting illegal bank transactions.
He was also sentenced to eight months in prison by the District Court for intentional assault and insult.
As the “supreme sovereignty”, Fitzker was responsible for determining the group's ideological orientation and promulgating his own “laws.”
Two detained people served as his representatives, while a fourth person was responsible for the financial status of the organization.
As part of the ban, authorities seized the group's assets and closed its online operations.
