Since the early hours of the morning, police in seven states in Germany have been searching 14 buildings with ties to the so-called "Kingdom of Germany" - in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Baden-Württemberg.
The central location is Halsbrücke in Saxony. The self-proclaimed king Peter Fitzgerald was also arrested there. A warrant has been issued for his arrest for several weeks. Searches are also being carried out at four other locations in Saxony, including Leipzig and Dresden.
"Chancellor's Feud" as the seat of the self-proclaimed king
For years, Fitzke has been one of the most prominent figures among the so-called "Citizens of the Reich", and not only because of his recognizable long braid. The property in Halsbrücke, known as the "chancellor's fiefdom", until recently served as the headquarters of the 59-year-old. In addition to the apartment building, there are also stables with farm animals and a cheese production plant. Several "subjects" also live there.
With this ban, the German Ministry of the Interior is now finally legally closing down Fitzek and his “Kingdom”, after the state had been taking measures against the various activities of “Peter the First”, as he calls himself, for years.
Ficek is now also facing criminal prosecution. The chief federal prosecutor in Karlsruhe has been investigating the formation of a criminal organization within the "Peter the Great" circle for some time and has already filed a request for an arrest warrant for the "king" and three other members of the organization.
"Coronation Ceremony" in Wittenberg
It all started in 2012: Peter Ficek, a former chef and karate instructor, crowned himself King of Germany in Wittenberg. His “kingdom” at the time consisted of a property in the city, a former hospital. There, in accordance with the ideology of the “Citizens of the Reich” movement, the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany did not apply.
Ficek gave his "state" a constitution with him as head of state, and in the following years he made every effort to expand his "territory" with the help of additional real estate and to recruit "subjects".
"Subordinates" provided the money
According to his own account, several thousand people declared themselves ready to become “subjects of the kingdom,” but according to the list of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which declared Ficek and his “kingdom” an “object of observation,” it is more likely that there were several hundred. Many of them were ready to provide him with financial resources, sometimes millions.
Fitzgerald was constantly coming up with new schemes to extract money from the pockets of his followers. He created his own pension and health care system for his “kingdom,” as well as his own currency that could be purchased with euros. Among other things, he advertised the “Kingdom of Germany” as a system that would allow people to leave the system of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Ficek has been keeping the judiciary busy for years
The state has been taking measures against such practices for years. Recently, the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg heard the verdict of the Regional Court in Dessau-Rosslau, which in September 2024 sentenced Ficek to eight months in prison for causing bodily harm. Ficek appealed the verdict, but was unsuccessful. The warrant for his arrest was executed today.
Bonus video:
