Born out of anti-government rallies during the pandemic, authorities say Germany's Reichsbürger movement is a growing threat. And it's forging ties with one of the country's biggest political parties.
In 2017, for example, a former winner of the Mister Germany male beauty pageant, Adrian Ursache, shot a policeman in the neck when the officer tried to evict him from a property he had declared to be a sovereign state.
But his kingdom is expanding relentlessly, with hundreds coming to live and work on his “royal” estates and thousands paying up to 2,500 Euros to attend his weekend courses on how they too can separate from the state.
Four years ago, in a speech to a Swiss business forum, he publicly bemoaned the descent of his noble family “after a thousand-year rule” and told the audience how much better people had lived when the Heinrichs were in charge.
For example, a poster bearing the Reuss family crest was nailed to a tree informing local residents they were “stateless” and would have to register on the internet to actually get valid identity documents.
Prince Reuss and 24 others were charged with a terrorist plot to take over the Reichstag building, arrest or execute their opponents, declare a transitional military government and suspend democracy.
von Storch rejects any suggestion that the party is extremist, arguing its controversial migration policy (it would ban any migrant who can’t pay five million Euros) is not so different from Australia’s.
The original article contains 2,305 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 91%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In 2017, for example, a former winner of the Mister Germany male beauty pageant, Adrian Ursache, shot a policeman in the neck when the officer tried to evict him from a property he had declared to be a sovereign state.
But his kingdom is expanding relentlessly, with hundreds coming to live and work on his “royal” estates and thousands paying up to 2,500 Euros to attend his weekend courses on how they too can separate from the state.
Four years ago, in a speech to a Swiss business forum, he publicly bemoaned the descent of his noble family “after a thousand-year rule” and told the audience how much better people had lived when the Heinrichs were in charge.
For example, a poster bearing the Reuss family crest was nailed to a tree informing local residents they were “stateless” and would have to register on the internet to actually get valid identity documents.
Prince Reuss and 24 others were charged with a terrorist plot to take over the Reichstag building, arrest or execute their opponents, declare a transitional military government and suspend democracy.
von Storch rejects any suggestion that the party is extremist, arguing its controversial migration policy (it would ban any migrant who can’t pay five million Euros) is not so different from Australia’s.
The original article contains 2,305 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 91%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!