Peter Fitzek, 59, who declared himself the King of Germany, has been arrested along with key members of his group, which has now been banned.
The self-proclaimed monarch, according to a BBC report, was detained alongside three of his senior “subjects” for attempting to overthrow the state.
Fitzek was among those arrested during coordinated morning raids across seven German states on Tuesday, involving around 800 security personnel.
Germany’s Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, announced the banning of their group, the Reichsbürger, or “Citizens of the Reich,” which seeks to establish the Königreich Deutschland, or “Kingdom of Germany.”
The group is accused of attempting to “undermine the rule of law” by creating an alternative state and promoting “antisemitic conspiracy narratives to justify their supposed claim to authority.”
The ministry also announced the dissolution of the group, accusing it of financing itself through “economic criminal structures.”
Fitzek, a former chef and karate instructor, has long called himself “King” and previously identified himself in court as “Peter the First.”
He crowned himself in 2012, donning ermine robes and wielding a medieval sword, and has since been acquiring land and property across Germany.
The Reichsbürger movement has its own currency, flag, and ID cards and aims to establish separate banking and healthcare systems.
Fitzek claims to have thousands of followers—whom he calls his “subjects.”
In a 2022 interview with the BBC, he denied any violent intentions but described the German state as “destructive and sick.”
“I have no interest in being part of this fascist and satanic system,” he told the BBC’s Jenny Hill during her visit to his self-declared “kingdom” in eastern Germany.
Fitzek has frequently clashed with authorities, refusing to comply with German laws in what many see as attention-seeking behavior.
