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The Reichsbürger flag, which is also displayed at demonstrations, is a symbol of the rejection of the existing state order and the assertion of an alternative “Reichsbürger” citizenship. (Adobe Stock)
In December 2022, the Federal Prosecutor's Office conducted a raid, arresting 25 members of the Reichsbürger movement. The accusation: an attempted coup. The largest raid in the history of the Federal Republic, involving over 3,000 security forces, yielded the following:
In March 2023, another raid took place, based in part on the analysis of communication devices seized during the first operation. The suspicion:
In Germany, approximately 23,000 individuals belong to the Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter movements. According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (2022), of these:
Of the 1,358 extremist crimes linked to the Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter movement, most involve coercion and threats (555), extortion (203), and acts of resistance (67).
Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter reject the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of Germany, its constitutional bodies, and authorities. Instead, they attempt to live outside these rule-of-law structures, such as within the "Kingdom of Germany" established in 2012, which is purportedly tax-exempt. The purchase of properties for this kingdom often involves dubious transactions.
Characteristics of Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter:
In Germany alone, there are 67 million internet users — nearly every adult is online. In addition to the approximately 17.4 million .de domain websites, around 500,000 new websites are added every year.
However, it is not only the internet that serves as an endless field for investigations and analyses by law enforcement agencies and intelligence services. Social media also harbours traces and clues about criminal activities. Some examples of social media platforms in Germany used by Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter for exchange include:
This is where it greatly assists investigators and analysts in security agencies to have search agents at their side, helping to consolidate data.
The social media monitoring tool rsNetMAN by rola uses such search agents. Supported by the AI-based object detection tool rsObIn, it can also detect and locate weapons, vehicles, and anti-constitutional symbols. With rola's software solutions, it is possible to examine, for example:
With the help of rsNetMan's search agents, set up with relevant keywords related to "Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter," it is possible to associate results with people, user accounts, and groups belonging to the Reichsbürger scene. Even Twitter accounts and blogs from left-wing groups, such as the Jena SHK research portal, can prove to be valuable sources of information.
The social media monitoring tool rsNetMAn and the object recognition software rsObIn are each standalone solutions that operate independently and, when needed, integrate seamlessly. Additional clarity can be provided by the intelligence solution and data fusion platform rsShadow.
The rsNetMAn software by rola Security Solutions offers a deep dive into the online world of Reichsbürger and Selbstverwalter. Aspects such as:
All of these can be extracted from the web and social media and analysed in real-time.
The requirements for using rsNetMAn are simple: investigators from law enforcement or intelligence services only need a browser and internet access. The tool produces clear reports that can be shared across teams or organisations. This also applies to the data results themselves. If the data is in a foreign language, rsNetMAn can still read and automatically translate it for the investigators.
The social media monitoring tool evaluates numerous publicly accessible sources. These sources include news portals, blogs, social media, forums, Telegram, and Telegram groups. Here’s how it works:
The primary advantage of rsNetMAn is the significant time savings and better results compared to manual searches using search engines. Instead of manually reviewing hours of results, investigators can find everything in an organised list or presented graphically. This allows them to filter, tag, and export the results. Afterward, investigation teams can process the data in other systems or enrich it with additional information. Moreover, rsNetMAn also alerts investigators about relevant posts even when they are not actively using the application.
"In online investigations, investigators are inherently limited — both in terms of time and content. It will always be possible to only piece together a snapshot of the situation at any given time. Many investigative support details and new leads remain hidden. rsNetMan aggregates data from all necessary open sources over a time period specified by the user."
Jochen Matthaeus, Domain Expert Lea Police, rola Security Solutions
Whether after violent demonstrations or raids, security forces often seize terabytes of image and video material containing clues to crimes. However, searching for relevant objects in these media is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Identifying anti-constitutional symbols, Reich war flags, machine guns, or hand grenades is crucial. When done manually, it consumes a lot of time and resources. This is where the object recognition tool rsObIn brings efficiency and high-quality results.
rsObIn identifies, using specially trained neural networks:
For example, the object inspector can quickly filter out all images and videos containing people and weapons from multiple terabytes of multimedia data. The tool can also detect movements in multi-hour surveillance footage and report them.
Good to Know: Person search also works for masked individuals! Additionally, the person and object search is integrated with features such as geo-location, categorisation, and alert functions.
As with the social media monitoring solution, investigators and analysts from police forces or state criminal offices only need a browser and, in combination with rsNetMan, an internet connection to use rsObIn. Furthermore, the object inspector can also be set up as an on-premise version. When evaluating image and video files, a targeted approach can be taken:
"The rapidly increasing amount of published images and videos on the open web makes it necessary to analyse both the posts themselves — in which, incidentally, the text share is decreasing — and the accompanying images using AI-based tools."
Ayse Gashani, Solution Consultant, rola Security Solutions
rsNetMan is ideal for integration with rsObIn. Here’s how it works: