Germany ‘coup plot’ shows conspiracy theories are a real-world threat

International security services are concerned about the combination of conspiracy theories with ‘anti-government sentiment’, Lizzie Dearden writes

Police officers work during a raid in Berlin (EPA)

A violent coup plot spearheaded by an elderly self-styled aristocrat sounds fantastical, but the alleged scheme uncovered by German authorities on Wednesday has strong echoes of the 6 January US Capitol Riot driven by the conspiracy theory that the presidential election had been “stolen” from Donald Trump.

More than 20 alleged members and supporters of the plot have been arrested in an operation involving more than 3,000 police in Germany, where the investigation is continuing with searches and interviews.

Germany’s federal prosecutor said the suspects had formed an unnamed “domestic terrorist organisation” by November 2021, which aimed to overthrow the German government and replace it with a new state led by 71-year-old Heinrich XIII, who styles himself Prince Reuss of Greiz.