The alleged ringleaders of a suspected far-right plot to attack the German parliament and overthrow the government will go on trial in Frankfurt in May, a court said on Tuesday.
Nine suspected members of the “terror group” behind the planned coup will stand trial from May 21, a court in the city said.
Among the defendants will be the two men alleged to have led the plot — the aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss and a former army officer named as Ruediger v.P..
Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a judge and former member of parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, will also stand trial.
The Frankfurt trial, which will last until early 2025 at least, is just one element of the sprawling case against the alleged coup plotters.
In all, 26 people are accused of belonging to a nationwide extremist network allegedly led by Reuss, and one woman is alleged to have supported the group.
The first nine suspected plotters will go on trial in Stuttgart on April 29.
A separate trial will open against another eight members of the group in Munich on June 18.
– Radicalised –
Police swooped on the group in raids across Germany in December 2022.
The charges were brought at the end of last year.
The so-called Reichsbuerger group had allegedly organised a “council” to take charge after their planned putsch, with officials warning preparations were at an advanced stage.
The Reichsbuerger movement includes far-right extremists and gun enthusiasts who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic.
Its followers generally believe in the continued existence of the pre-World War I German Reich, or empire, under a monarchy, and several groups have declared their own states.
Long dismissed as malcontents and oddballs, the Reichsbuerger have become increasingly radicalised in recent years and are seen as a growing security threat.
