German parliament to review security after coup plot

Former MP among suspects accused of plotting a far-right attack

Far-right plotters were allegedly planning to storm Germany's parliament, the Bundestag. Getty Images

Germany's parliament will consider new security measures after the discovery of an alleged far-right plot to storm the building.

One of the suspects arrested in Wednesday's dramatic raids was a former member of parliament, Birgit Malsack-Winkelmann, from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Prosecutors said a coup was being planned and that some plotters had made "concrete preparations" to storm parliament with a small armed group.

A deputy speaker of the Bundestag, Katrin Goering-Eckardt, said the suspected link to the AfD ― which has 78 seats ― meant more action was needed.

"We will consider carefully how we need to adjust the security arrangements in the Bundestag," she said.

The AfD's leadership, which had only recently lobbied for Ms Malsack-Winkelmann to be reinstated as a judge, distanced itself from the alleged plotters.

"We condemn such endeavours and firmly reject them," a joint statement from party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said.

But some AfD MPs said the raids were overblown and played down the threat posed by the suspects, who included a minor prince and former army soldiers.

The aristocrat, Prince Heinrich XIII, was accused by prosecutors of acting as a ringleader of the group and making detailed plans for a military regime.

Authorities say the coup plot was linked to a movement called the Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich), who reject the legitimacy of Germany's post-war democracy.

Reichsbuerger protests were linked to a previous security scare at the Bundestag when a group of anti-lockdown demonstrators stormed the building.

The group is thought to have gained supporters during the pandemic and attracted a blend of conspiracy theorists, gun enthusiasts and right-wing extremists. .

The Reichsbuerger scene consists of about 21,000 people of whom about 2,000 are known to be potentially violent, intelligence services said.

Another concern is that the plotters were said to be recruiting among the police and military, both rattled in recent years by cases of extremism in the ranks.

An Interior Ministry spokeswoman said on Friday that democratic values were part of the training received by federal police and intelligence services.

"We work on the basis that members of the security forces stand firmly within the boundaries of the constitution," she said.

The spokeswoman declined to comment on suggestions that the AfD should be under closer surveillance, after some branches were previously monitored by intelligence services.

About 3,000 police officers, including special forces, took part in Wednesday's raids, in which 25 people were arrested and more than 100 properties searched.

Some of the suspects were arrested in Italy and Austria, prosecutors said.