A famous chef is among those arrested for an alleged plot by a far-right terrorist group to overthrow the German government, local media reported.
Frank Heppner, 62, who is the father of Real Madrid star David Alaba’s girlfriend, was arrested in the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel, where he owns a restaurant.
The foiled coup of the Reichsburger Movement – also known as the Reich Citizens Movement – led to the largest national police operation against right-wing extremism.
Image: German celebrity chef Frank Heppner. Photo: YouTube
Actions took place in 11 of the country’s 16 states last week, with 3,000 armed police storming up to 100 properties in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Thuringia, as well as in Kitzbühel and the Italian city of Perugia.
The conspirators are said to have wanted to install Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, a 71-year-old aristocrat, as the head of a new government. He was among those arrested.
Prosecutors said the group planned to install him as Germany’s new leader.
Heppner’s role, if the alleged coup was successful, would be to “assume the chairs of the new German Reich” and supply their troops, according to the Austrian daily Die Presse.
A specialist in Euro-Asian cuisine, Hepner previously worked in five-star hotels around the world.
Image: David Alaba and Shalimar Heppner at the FC Bayern Munich Christmas Party 2018.
His daughter Shalimar Hepner, 28, has a son with Alaba from Real Madrid, who is also the captain of the Austrian national team. Sky News has contacted him for comment.
Twenty-three suspected members and supporters of the group have been arrested, according to German authorities.
Prosecutors said 22 German citizens and one Russian woman were detained during the protests. They said the extradition of two other people detained in Italy and Austria.
More arrests are expected to follow.
According to Der Spiegel, among the items confiscated in the raid were 9mm pistols, swords, knives, stun guns, combat helmets, night vision equipment and the service weapon of a police officer who is among the suspects.
Left-wing daily Die Tageszeitung reported that investigators had found a “hit list” with 18 names and addresses on it of prominent German politicians and journalists the group may have intended to attack.
The Reichsburger movement unites several far-right groups whose goal is to get rid of the current government and replace it with their own.
According to authorities, members of the Reichsburger group have been preparing to “carry out actions based on their ideology” since November 2021.
After the attacks, German Interior Minister Nancy Feize said the attacks showed the country was “hitting back at the enemies of democracy”.
The case once again put the far-right Alternative for Germany party in the spotlight. A female judge – identified by prosecutors as Birgit MV – who is believed to have ties to the party, was also detained during the actions.
Her intended post-coup role is believed to have been Minister of Justice.
Known by its German acronym AfD, the party has increasingly come under surveillance by German security services for its links to extremists.
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