German man charged with planning coup and contacting Putin to establish authoritarian state
• Prosecutors in Hamburg filed charges against a 66-year-old German man for supporting a terrorist organization and planning a coup attempt to overthrow the German government.
• The man was a supporter of the "United Patriots," an offshoot of the extremist "Reichsbürger" movement that does not recognize the modern German state.
• The group allegedly planned to sail a ship into Russian waters to contact President Putin and get support for establishing a new authoritarian German state.
• The man is accused of organizing Telegram groups focused on restoring Germany's 1871 Imperial Constitution and enthusiastically supporting the group's coup plans.
• He illegally possessed a firearm with over 100 rounds of ammunition and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.