A chat group on Telegram, where, according to the security authorities, a three-stage plan is said to have emerged: Destabilize the power supply in Germany through targeted attacks and bring about conditions similar to civil war, "arrest" Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, overthrow the "illegitimate" federal government in order to ultimately "take over government power". , says Jürgen Brauer, Attorney General of Rhineland-Palatinate during a press conference on Thursday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the police in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein searched a total of 20 properties.

270 police officers and three prosecutors were involved.

Timo Steppat

Editor in Politics.

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The focus is on two men, 55 and 54 years old, who were arrested in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse and in Falkensee in Brandenburg on Wednesday.

On Thursday, an arrest warrant should be applied for at the Koblenz district court.

They are accused of, among other things, serious crimes that endanger the state, such as planned bomb attacks and violations of the War Weapons Control Act.

During the searches, a total of 14 long guns, including two AK47 rifles and seven handguns - including four Glock pistols - were found, as well as a Kalashnikov, which is considered a weapon of war.

Two other men are accused of terrorist financing and involvement in the plans.

The police looked at a total of 70 people;

Based on the results of the searches, some of the people previously listed as witnesses could become suspects, says Brauer.

Hate against democracy, Corona as a catalyst

In October last year, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Rhineland-Palatinate passed on information about the chat group "United Patriots" to the Attorney General in Koblenz and the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in Mainz.

At times the group was called "Day X in Germany".

LKA President Johannes Kunz describes the members as a “melange” of conspiracy theorists, Reich citizens and Corona deniers who have never been seen before.

"The connecting element of these scenes is the hatred against our democracy and those responsible for government," says Kunz.

The protest against the Corona measures acted like a catalyst and helped them to network via Telegram.

"It didn't take long to find the group in Telegram," said Attorney General Jürgen Brauer on Thursday.

The accused are said to have used the messenger service to “recruit support staff”.

An undercover agent contacted the group, and the main suspects are said to have given him a kind of wish list for a gun purchase on February 21.

According to the LKA, there were also Panzerfausts on it.

According to chief investigator Hans Kästner, the aim of the undercover investigator was to follow developments in the group as closely as possible in order to be able to better assess the dangers.

When handing over the weapons, which had previously been rendered unusable, the police arrested the men.

They had previously paid the agreed amount of 40,000 euros in gold bars and gold coins.

Apparently they wanted to pretend to be police officers

During the searches, investigators also secured blank test certificates and vaccination cards, as well as material to carry out counterfeiting.

They also discovered many paraphernalia that indicate that the accused and apparently also parts of their support group intended to pose as police officers.

They had service IDs, blue lights for the car roof, trowels and police safety vests.

Investigators have not yet found out how the members of the “United Patriots” chat group got their hands on the police equipment and the large number of weapons they had before the alleged deal with the undercover investigator.

However, according to LKA President Kunz, the fact that the equipment was secured suggests that members of the group wanted to pretend to be police officers in order to get to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, for example.

According to investigators, the group had not yet determined a place or time when they would kidnap Lauterbach, but the plans apparently called for Lauterbach's bodyguards to be killed as "collateral damage," according to investigator Kästner.

Prosecutor Brauer says there has been almost daily communication with the BKA security group for months.

When asked how specific the plans were, he replies that he considers the facts of Section 89 of the Criminal Code to be fulfilled.

This corresponds to a serious criminal offense endangering the state.

Health Minister Lauterbach does not want to be intimidated by the kidnapping plans of radical corona deniers and Reich citizens.

“Some Covid deniers are not concerned with the fight against vaccinations or corona requirements.

They are fighting against our basic democratic order," Lauterbach told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"But they won't be able to do that.

I will not let this deter me, but will continue to support the entire population.”