The German government has officially outlawed the far-right group known as the “Kingdom of Germany,” branding it a threat to the country’s democratic system.
Authorities carried out coordinated raids across multiple states on Tuesday, arresting four of the group’s senior figures.
The banned organization belongs to the broader Reichsbürger (Reich Citizen) movement, which denies the legitimacy of the modern German state.
Members insist that the German Reich still exists and openly reject the authority of the current government, its laws, courts, and parliament. Many within the movement also refuse to comply with tax obligations or court-imposed fines.
Approximately 800 police officers participated in the sweeping raids, targeting properties linked to the group and the residences of its key members.
Announcing the prohibition, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt emphasized the group’s anti-democratic stance and the use of conspiracy theories to justify their actions.
“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.”
Peter Fitzek, the group’s founder and self-proclaimed leader, was among those detained. Fitzek declared the establishment of the “Kingdom of Germany” in the town of Wittenberg back in 2012.
While he claims the group has a following of around 6,000 people, Germany’s Interior Ministry estimates the actual number at about 1,000. The group purports to have seceded from the German federal state.
“This is not about harmless nostalgia, as the title of the association might suggest, but about criminal structures, criminal networks,” the minister said at a press briefing in Berlin. “That’s why it’s being banned today.”
Authorities are also moving to block the group’s digital platforms and seize its financial