THE German government has banned the Reich Citizen group, a far-right extremist organisation calling itself the “Kingdom of Germany,” and arrested four of its leaders.

Early today, about 800 police officers carried out co-ordinated raids across several federal states, searching properties belonging to the group and the homes of its key figures

“The members of this association have created a ‘counter-state’ in our country and built up economic criminal structures,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.