The BBC's Europe editor digs into the extremists who plotted to topple the German government.
Three alpaca stared bleakly at us as we rounded what seemed like the umpteenth sharp bend along the rural roads of the east German region of east Thuringia.
Intelligence officers told us to expect more detentions in the coming weeks and months as the investigation continues. And German media is buzzing with talk of increased security in and around the country's federal and regional parliaments.In stark contrast to this week's screamingly sensational headlines, the hunting lodge grounds seemed deserted, even ghostly, as I peered through the padlocked gates.
The hunting lodge belonged to the family for hundreds of years, before being confiscated by the East German communist government after World War II. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann was designated Justice Minister of the planned new regime. Her insider knowledge of parliament was key in planning the pre-Christmas, armed and assumed to be violent take-over.
In the raids this Wednesday, weapons were found in 50 of the properties searched, which included army barracks in southern Germany. One of the police officers at the prince's hunting lodge reportedly told neighbours they were searching for munitions and explosives there. The coup-plotters included large numbers of so-called Reichsbürger in their ranks. These so-called Reich citizens are individuals - numbering over 21,000 - who don't recognise the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of modern Germany and therefore refuse to pay taxes, accept rulings by German judges or use German number plates for their cars. Reichsbürger believe the legitimate country of Germany ceased to exist after the imperial Reich collapsed after World War I.
Disinformation researcher at Berlin's CEMAS - Josef Holnburger - says studies suggest a whopping 20% of Germans are susceptible to conspiracy theories. Including online Russian propaganda. It was at one of these demonstrations - of 40,000 people in Berlin at the height of the Covid pandemic - that a breakaway group staged a symbolic attempt to storm parliament.
German QAnon supporters joined forces with vocal anti-vaxxers, neo-Nazis and Reichsbürger at the German parliament building, the Reichstag, that late August 2020. Police stopped protesters on the steps before they could attempt to push their way in, but symbolically it was seen as a successful day for the German anti-establishment.
The tracker of Germany's far-right Nicholas Potter and his colleagues are often threatened with violence, as is Die Linke MP and anti-fascism campaigner Martina Renner. She shared with us her concern at the rise in Germany, not only of membership of radical conspiracy and new hard right movements, but also the increasing number of associated physical attacks. Even murders.
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