BERLIN (AP) 鈥 Five people go on trial in Germany on Wednesday accused of planning a far-right coup and plotting to kidnap the country's health minister.
The four men, aged 44 to 56, and a 75-year-old woman are accused of founding or being members of a terrorist organization and treason.
Federal prosecutors say the group is linked to the Reich Citizens scene that rejects the legitimacy of Germany鈥檚 postwar constitution and has similarities to the Sovereign Citizens and QAnon movements in the United States.
Prosecutors say they intended to create 鈥渃onditions similar to civil war鈥 by using explosives to cause nationwide blackouts, then kidnapping Health Minister Karl Lauterbach 鈥 a prominent advocate of strict coronavirus measures.
There were no indications the group, which called itself United Patriots, was close to launching a coup. But prosecutors said the group鈥檚 procurement of weapons and money showed they were "dangerous criminals who wanted to implement their plans.鈥
The men, whose names weren't released for privacy reasons, were . Police at the time seized 22 firearms, including a Kalashnikov rifle, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, as well as large sums of cash, gold and silver.
The woman, who was arrested six months later, is alleged to have drafted numerous documents for the group including an 鈥榓rrest warrant鈥 for Lauterbach. The retired teacher also wrote letters addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Lauterbach told German weekly Der Spiegel that he hopes for a 鈥渉ard, fair verdict鈥 that would deter others from planning similar plots.
The case is separate from that of the , also for planning to topple the government. Among the plotters was a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
