Prosecutors in Germany have brought charges against 27 individuals suspected of being far-right extremists, accusing them of plotting a violent coup.

The defendants are alleged members of the fringe movement known as Reichsbürger, or Citizens of the Reich. The indictment states that the group vehemently rejected state institutions and the democratic constitutional order.

Most of the accused have affiliations with Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, a prominent figure within the Reichsbürger movement hailing from an aristocratic family.

The charges specify that the group actively planned to overthrow Germany's democratic political system, with concrete preparations for a coup initiated in the summer of 2021.

The strategy involved seizing power by storming the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, with a small armed contingent. The assault was intended to be triggered by a signal, such as the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The alleged plotters had already determined how their new state would function after the coup.

Prince Reuss was planned to be head of state. On taking office, he negotiated a peace treaty with the Allied powers which won World War II. Prince Reuss tried to meet representatives of the Russian government to gain support for the coup, according to prosecutors.

Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, then a member of the Bundestag for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, would have been made justice minister. Prosecutors said she granted access to parliamentary buildings to other co-conspirators.

The would-be rebels are alleged to have attempted to recruit soldiers and police officers.

The group had drawn up lists of enemies. Members were aware that their plans would result in people being killed, according to the indictment.

Members were made to sign a declaration of secrecy. Violators would have been executed for high treason.

The suspected plotters had access to about 380 firearms and 148,000 rounds of ammunition.

Some of the accused were arrested in federal police raids last December.

According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, there are about 23,000 followers of the Reichsbürger movement in the country.

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