The head of Germany's domestic security agency on Saturday hailed efforts to disarm members of the far-right Reichsbürger scene and other groups who reject the German state, but warned the group's threat level still remains critically high.

Hans-Georg Maassen, the president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence service, told the DPA news agency that the latest police crackdowns had seen the number of Reichsbürger with a firearms permit fall below the 1,000 mark.

A BfV spokesman confirmed the figures and Maassen's comments to DW.

"Successes are becoming apparent when it comes to revoking permits," Maassen said. "Nevertheless, we must keep a close eye on this movement."

The radical Reichsbürger movement ("Citizens of the Reich") subscribes to the idea that the 1937 borders of the German Empire still exist and that the modern-day Federal Republic is effectively a puppet state still occupied by the Allied powers.

Members refuse to recognize the German Basic Law, the government, police authorities and the courts, while some are also anti-Semitic.

According to the latest BfV estimates, 920 members of the far-right scene still own firearms, around 700 fewer than last year. However, that latest numbers show that up to 7 percent of suspected Reichsbürger still have a permit to own sporting or hunting rifles — far higher than the national average of 2 percent.

Read more: Germany's Reichsbürger movement out to 'delegitimize the state'

Reichsbürger numbers on the up

Despite the crackdown on armed members, official figures show the total number of Reichsbürger continues to rise, with authorities having identified around 18,400, suspected members, some 900 of whom are believed to be radical right-wing extremists.

However, Maassen stressed that the uptick in numbers also accounted for the authorities' efforts in identifying previously unknown members. "The rise in numbers in the past three months shows that our increased focus on the Reichsbürger scene is paying off," he said.

German security services have increased their monitoring of the far-right scene over the past two years following a spate of violent attacks on the public and police.

Read more: German police bust human trafficking ring linked to Reichsbürger scene

The movement gained significant traction after a member shot dead a policeman in Bavaria in October 2016.

A few months later, a member in the southwestern city of Trier shot a soft-air rifle in a public square and threatened several passers-by. Since then, several officers have been injured in police operations against members. The most recently, last month, saw several Reichsbürger clash with police after a protest in Erlenbach in the state of Baden-Württemberg, turned violent.

Several public sector workers across Germany have also been identified as members of the far-right group.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany What do Reichsbürger believe? "Reichsbürger" translates to "citizens of the Reich." The nebulous movement rejects the modern German state, and insists that the German Empire's 1937 or 1871 borders still exist and the modern country is an administrative construct still occupied by Allied powers. For Reichsbürger, the government, parliament, judiciary and security agencies are puppets installed and controlled by foreigners.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany What do they do? The Reichsbürger refuse to pay taxes or fines. They see their personal property, such as their houses, as independent entities outside the authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, and reject the German constitution and other legal texts, but also swamp German courts with lawsuits. They produce their own aspirational documents such as passports and driving licenses.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany How much of a threat are they? The Reichsbürger scene began to develop in the 1980s and is a disparate, leaderless movement that has grown to about 19,000 supporters, according to German intelligence officials. Of those, about 950 have been identified as far-right extremists and at least 1,000 have a license to own firearms. Many subscribe to anti-Semitic ideologies.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany Who are its members? One was Mr. Germany According to German authorities, the average Reichsbürger is 50 years old, male, and is socially and financially disadvantaged. The movement's members are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of Germany. Adrian Ursache, a former winner of the Mister Germany beauty pageant, is also a Reichsbürger and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019 for shooting and injuring a policeman.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany Turning point The case of Wolfgang P., who in October 2017 was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a police officer, is seen as a turning point for how German authorities deal with the extremist group. P., an alleged Reichsbürger member, shot at officers who were raiding his home to confiscate weapons. The case gained international attention and set off alarm bells over the escalation of violence.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany What are the authorities doing about it? German authorities were accused of long underestimating the threat. In 2017 for the first time Germany’s domestic intelligence service documented extremist crimes perpetrated by individual Reichsbürger. Since then there have been several raids on Reichsbürger targets and subgroups have been banned. Police and military have also probed whether they have Reichsbürger in their own ranks.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany International parallels, conspiracy theories Reichsbürger have been seen waving Russian flags, leading to allegations that they are funded by Russia with the aim to destabilize the German government. Germany's Reichsbürger are also compared to US groups such as "freemen-on-the-land," who believe that they are bound only by laws they consent to and can therefore declare themselves independent of the government and the rule of law. Author: Samantha Early, Rina Goldenberg





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