Germany: Ringleaders behind far-right plot sentenced to jail

A German court sentenced five people who planned to abduct Health Minister Karl Lauterbach to prison on Thursday.

According to the indictment, the group wanted to plunge Germany into chaos. The defendants planned to use bomb attacks to cause a power outage and kidnap Lauterbach.

The group's end goal, according to prosecutors, was to the end of the parliamentary democracy in Germany and restore the country's Imperial Constitution of 1871.

The Thursday verdicts mark the end of a nearly two-year long trial which began in May 2023. A court in the western German city of Koblenz sentenced the four men to prison terms between five years and nine months to eight years.

What we know about the ringleaders

The defendants were accused of either founding or being members of a terrorist organization called "Vereinte Patrioten" (United Patriots) and preparing to carry out treasonous acts against the government.

One of the defendants — a 77-year-old woman who was the only one not being held in custody — was given a two years and 10 months jail sentence. She is considered to be the group's "political mastermind."

During the court proceedings, the former teacher frequently expressed conspiracy theories from the so-called Reichsbürger, or "citizens of the Reich," which reject Germany's postwar state.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic