Germany Charges 5 With Plot to Kidnap Minister, Overthrow Government

The Reichstag building (R), which houses Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament, and the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus parliamentary complex (L) are reflected in the river Spree in Berlin on Jan. 20, 2023. John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

BERLIN—Prosecutors brought high treason charges against five people who allegedly planned to kidnap the health minister and were prepared to kill in order to topple the German government, the attorney general said on Monday.

The group, formed in mid-January 2022, had set itself the goal “of triggering civil war-like conditions in Germany by means of violence” in the hope of overthrowing the government and parliamentary democracy, the prosecutor said in a statement.