Germany: Group accused of planning to start ‘civil war’

BERLIN (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Germany say that they have indicted five people for treason and forming a “terrorist organization” that aimed to topple the government and spark a civil war. Prosecutors said Monday the suspects, four men and one woman, had made “concrete preparations” to cause a large-scale blackout in the country and use the ensuing chaos to establish an alternative government. They also allegedly planned to kidnap the country’s health minister. The group is accused of being driven by the ‘Reich Citizens’ ideology propagated by one of its members. All five German citizens were arrested last year and remain in pre-trial detention. Authorities uncovered a similar plot by another, larger far-right group last month.