ISD’s Senior Research and Policy Manager, Jakob Guhl, spoke to VICE News about the QAnon-inflected plot to overthrow the German government, which was brought down on 7 December by a police operation that arrested over 20 people.

The accused plotters were part of the Reichsburger movement, a network similar to Sovereign Citizens who believe that the German government is illegitimate. Jakob, along with Research Manager Dominik Hammer, wrote an Explainer of the Reichsburger movement, which is also available in German.

In his comments, Jakob specifically focussed on the links between this movement and QAnon, explaining how the group believed that the US would come to the rescue of Germany’s people. “What members of this group specifically believed is that there could be an alliance of Russia and the US to liberate Germany from the deep state,” Jakob told VICE.

The problem QAnon adherents face is that they have had five years of failed predictions and broken promises about the plan for Trump to rid the world of the Deep State once and for all. As such, Jakob told VICE, some are increasingly saying that they need to move away from the idea of “trust the plan” and instead become the plan, turning their beliefs into action. This is a concerning development which may underlie some attempted acts of insurrection, such as this alleged plot.