German prosecutors announced on Tuesday, that a terrorist group attempted to kidnap the Minister of Health and kill his guards.
German prosecutors charged "5 suspects of belonging to a terrorist group with the crime of high treason."
Last December, thousands of German policemen carried out a series of raids across the country to arrest right-wing extremists from the "Reichsburger" (Reichsburg) movement, who sought to overthrow the government through an armed coup.
The Reichsburger movement rejects Germany's post-war constitution and calls for the overthrow of the government. The movement includes neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorists and gun advocates who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic.
Members of the movement also believe that Germany is ruled by a so-called "deep state".
The movement has become increasingly radicalized in recent years and is seen as a growing security threat. Ex-soldiers are believed to be among the members of the newly formed terrorist group, so a military barracks was searched today as part of the crackdown on the movement.
The detainees last year formed "a terrorist organization with the aim of overthrowing the current state system in Germany and replacing it with a system of their own, which was already in the process of being established," according to German prosecutors. The suspects knew that their goal could only be achieved by military means and force.
