Germany was to be a monarchy again.
Until they were arrested last week, they had guns and ammunition, intended to force their way into parliament, handcuff its members, and hold off police. (Sound familiar?)
“These so-called Reich citizens are individuals … who don’t recognise the legitimacy of the Federal Republic …and therefore refuse to pay taxes, accept rulings by German judges or use German number plates for their cars,” BBC News said here. (Sound familiar?)
The plotters included members of the military and police, who’d joined forces with neo-Nazis, and their ultimate aim was a “whiter, more conservative Christian society.” (Sound familiar?)
They’re not without sympathizers. A local resident said, “There are a lot of people who aren’t happy with this country as it is now.” A disinformation researcher in Berlin says “studies suggest a whopping 20% of Germans are susceptible to conspiracy theories, including online Russian propaganda.” (Sound familiar?)
“Germany has the largest following in the world – outside English-speaking countries – of … QAnon conspiracy theories,” BBC News says. “They focus hatred towards an alleged ‘deep state’ … they imagine a corrupt, power-hungry, child-murdering and molesting elite. Their enemy is liberal, global, and often Jewish,” and they’ve “joined forces with vocal anti-vaxxers.” (Sound familiar?)
Anybody can pretend to be a government; the U.S. has a self-proclaimed king, and Canada has a “queen of the world” (see story here). But you’re not a real government unless you’re in charge, and you can’t do that without an army and police force. And to replace the existing government, you’ll need a bigger castle than this German provincial hunting lodge to hold off the real army and police when they come for you.
