BERLIN (AP) — Three people have been wounded in an armed standoff in eastern Germany between police and members of a group that denies the legitimacy of the modern German state.
Police spokeswoman Ulrike Diener says the shootout happened while some 100 officers tried to enforce an eviction order Thursday against a 41-year-old “Reich citizen” in Reuden, about 20 kilometers south of Leipzig.
Members of the Reich Citizens’ Movement refuse to acknowledge the authority of the post-war Federal Republic of Germany and instead believe they are citizens of the German Reich. They have been compared to the U.S. sovereign citizen movement.
Diener said the 41-year-old was shot and seriously wounded. One officer received a minor neck injury, while another was bitten.
German media identified the evictee as former “Mr. Germany” Adrian Ursache.
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Guy born in 1975 claims he is a citizen of a government that was deservedly extirpated 30 years before he was born. And would have shot him out of hand for resisting the police.
At least we know the US doesn’t have a monopoly on stupid crazies.
Yeah, we can’t seem to get rid of ours too.
Sometimes I feel we are entering a period of collective madness. Stay centered and strong. I hope this will pass soon.