Germany bans far-right group linked to 'Reich Citizens' movement

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has banned the far-right group "Kingdom of Germany," a prominent faction of the Reich Citizens movement, with four of its alleged ringleaders detained during raids across several German states.

The group, which reportedly has around 6,000 followers, has been accused of establishing a "counter-state" and building criminal economic structures.

Four German men were taken into custody, including the group's founder, Peter Fitzek, a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office said.

The men, aged between 37 and 59, are due to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to the Interior Ministry, police have been conducting raids since early Tuesday on properties of key members, including in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

It also said the group has for years operated illegal banking and insurance businesses through affiliated entities.

Dobrindt stated that the group's members used anti-Semitic conspiracy theories to support their claimed sovereignty, adding that such behaviour cannot be tolerated in a state governed by the rule of law.

So-called Reichsbürger, or "Reich Citizens," believe that the modern German republic illegitimately replaced the German Reich that was founded in 1871 and continued under the Nazi regime until 1945.

They do not recognize democratic institutions like parliament, courts, or laws and refuse to pay taxes, social security contributions, or fines.

The Reich Citizens movement was founded in 2012 by Peter Fitzek, who was born in Saxony-Anhalt. He appointed himself its head.