German police have apprehended Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed monarch of a far-right organization that challenges Germany’s constitutional framework.
German officials have outlawed the extremist group “Kingdom of Germany” and detained four high-ranking members, including its self-proclaimed “king,” Peter Fitzek. This secessionist group had declared itself a “counter-state” ruled by an absolute monarch.
The Kingdom of Germany is associated with the Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) movement, a far-right network fueled by conspiracy theories that rejects the legitimacy of modern Germany. The domestic intelligence agency estimates that approximately 25,000 individuals are involved in Reichsburger groups nationwide.
These adherents assert that the historical German Reich still exists and refuse to acknowledge the current government, its laws, or its judicial system. Members also reject civic duties like paying taxes and fines.
On Tuesday, around 800 officers executed raids on properties connected to the group and the homes of key members throughout Germany.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that “These extremists established a counter-state within Germany and engaged in illegal financial activities,” in his announcement of the ban. He further added that “They support their false claims to power with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”
The minister told reporters that the Kingdom of Germany’s actions were not just “harmless nostalgia,” regardless of what its name suggests, clarifying the ban was enacted because authorities were confronting “criminal structures” and “criminal networks.”
Established in 2012 in Wittenberg, eastern Germany, the Kingdom of Germany became known for running unauthorized banking operations and promoting its own separate legal system. Fitzek, who once unsuccessfully ran for parliament, styled himself as “King Peter I” and appointed two deputies and a finance minister to assist his self-declared reign.
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe, Fitzek, as the “so-called supreme sovereign,” possessed “control and decision-making power in all key areas.”
Authorities stated that the Kingdom of Germany considers itself a sovereign state under international law and seeks to expand its claimed territory to match the borders of the German Empire of 1871.
In 2022, German authorities arrested members of a group connected to Reich Citizens, including a former member of parliament and ex-military personnel, for allegedly planning to storm the parliament, overthrow the government, and instate Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, an aristocrat and businessman, as the new head of state.