The self-styled “king” of Germany and three of his senior “subjects” were arrested for attempting to overthrow the state, according to media reports. 

Peter Fitzek, 59, was taken into police custody during morning raids conducted Tuesday in seven German states, the BBC reported. 

Fitzek’s group, the Reichsbürger, or “citizens of the Reich,” has also been banned by the government. 

TRUMP CELEBRATES CONSERVATIVE PARTY WIN IN GERMANY

The group’s aim is to establish the Königreich Deutschland, or “Kingdom of Germany.”

“I have no interest in being part of this fascist and satanic system,” Fitzek previously told the news outlet in a 2022 interview.

Reichsbürgers reportedly have their own currency, flag and identification cards and want to set up separate banking and health systems.

The Reichsbürger undermined “the rule of law,” said Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s interior minister, by creating an alternative state and spreading “antisemitic conspiracy narratives to back up their supposed claim to authority,” the news report states. 

GERMANY’S NEW LEADER LOOKS TO DISTANCE EUROPE FROM TRUMP

Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed head of the so-called “Kingdom of Germany,” shows the paper currency he created himself in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 23, 2023.  (Jens Schlueter/AFP)

He said the group finances itself through crime. 

Fitzek, who claims to have thousands of “subjects,” denied having violent intentions but also called Germany “destructive and sick.”

In 2022, dozens of people associated with the Reichsbürger were arrested for plotting to overthrow the German government in Berlin. They were accused of planning a violent coup, which included kidnapping the health minister in an effort to create “civil war conditions” to bring down German democracy, according to the BBC. 

Self-made identity and banking documents of the so-called “Kingdom of Germany” are pictured in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 23, 2023. (Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images)

Once dismissed as eccentric by critics, the group is now seen within Germany as a serious threat as the far right has grown politically over the past decade, the report said. 

After his trip to Belgrade, European Council President António Costa visited Sarajevo on Tuesday as part of his Balkans tour. He was given a warm reception upon his arrival before meeting with Bosnia’s presidency.

In a statement, the European Council chief announced that the EU “remains committed” to the country’s European future. He also praised Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović, and Željko Komšić — members of the Western Balkan country’s three-way presidency — for their role in maintaining stability and security in the country and the region.

Recently, tensions have been brewing domestically over the leader of the entity of the Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik’s actions, which the state-level authorities denounced for undermining the country’s constitutional order.

Western powers and the EU have condemned Dodik for his provocations after he had suggested that the Dayton Agreement, the peace agreement that formally ended the Bosnian War in 1995, had outlived its purpose.

In his statement, Costa underlined the importance of the Dayton accords, set to mark its 30th anniversary this year.

“And this year, on the 30th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide and the Dayton (and) Paris Agreement, I believe that it is an important message to remember,” said Costa.

Costa also outlined that some reforms are needed to ensure Bosnia remains on the path to EU membership.

“We need the approval of two judiciary laws, the appointment of a chief negotiator, and the adoption of the reform agenda to move towards on the Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European path.”

Bosnia is the only country that does not benefit from the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. Costa stressed that implementing these reforms is of paramount importance to ensure that Bosnia’s citizens benefit from the EU plan.

“I would like to see Bosnia and Herzegovina joining the other Western Balkans partners in profiting from all that the European Union has to offer,” the Council president noted.

Costa will next travel to Montenegro and Albania on Wednesday, for meetings with President Jakub Milatović in Podgorica and President Bajram Begaj in Tirana. He’ll conclude his tour with a visit to Skopje in North Macedonia, where he will meet Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.

Additional sources • AP