BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2022) Germany's right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party should be monitored by the country's secret services since one of its members was among those arrested for plans to storm the Bundestag, the nation's parliament, and overthrow the current government, Lars Klingbeil, a co-leader of Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the German Prosecutor General's Office said the police arrested 22 members and three supporters of an allegedly terrorist organization that was plotting to overthrow the existing German government. Former German lawmaker and member of the AfD Birgit Malsack-Winkemann was among those arrested. She was reportedly supposed to become the justice minister following the coup. AfD leaders Alice Wiedel and Tino Chrupalla condemned the coup plans, saying that they "completely trust" the authorities in their investigation.
"The whole AfD belongs on the watch list of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution rather than in parliaments, courts or public service," Klingbeil told German news agency dpa, adding that raids had shown close ties between the party and extremists.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in turn, praised the work of the country's security services during the raids, saying it demonstrated that Germany was protected from extremism.
"The most important thing is that we know that we have a protected country, robust democracy that is able to prevent such violations of the law," the chancellor told journalists on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Der Spiegel reported that an extremist organization was planning to take control of the Bundestag and arrest its members. This act was supposed to spark riots all over the country and lead to the creation of a transition military government under Heinrich XIII Prince of Reuss, a 71-year-old German nobleman. This government would have started negotiations on Germany's place in the world with the victors of the World War II, namely Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
