epa11308036 A defendant arrives on the first day of the 'Reichsbuerger' trial in Stuttgart, Germany, 29 April 2024. Nine men are facing trial for their involvement in a conspiracy of the 'Patriotic Union' which intended to overthrow the German government and revive the German Empire. Police raided the group in 2022 and arrested 25 people, including the alleged ringleader Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, as well as former Bundestag MP for Alternative for Germany (AfD) Birgit Malsack-Winkemann. Two other trials will begin in coming weeks in Frankfurt and Munich. EPA/THOMAS LOHNES / POOL ATTENTION EDITORS: IMAGE PIXELATED AT SOURCE TO OBSCURE THE IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUALS FOR LEGAL REASONS The Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) movement rejects modern German democracy as illegitimate and its followers argue they are citizens of a monarchy that endured after Germany's defeat in World War One, despite its formal abolition.
Dozens of members, whose leaders include German aristocrat and property investor Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, are on trial across Germany after the suspected plot was uncovered in 2022.
The defendants have denied charges of terrorism and high treason.
Prosecutors said they believed the men arrested on Thursday, who were not named, supported the movement or were involved in plot preparations. Specifically, they are suspected of taking part in firearms training in 2022 at a former army shooting range with members of the group who have already been arrested.
"According to the available information, these shooting exercises served to prepare for a possible attack on the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament)," prosecutors said.
Searches were conducted at eight locations in the states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia early on Thursday.
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Matthias Williams and Alison Williams)