TikToker is Legally Seizing Swiss Land as "King"

0:00 This dude crowned himself king of Switzerland and built a fake military, started seizing, claiming, and collecting land, and somehow local governments still can't fully stop him. So, this is definitely one of the more bizarre stories I've covered here in a while. Cuz apparently, Switzerland kind of has a king now, at least a self-proclaimed king, and he's doing everything in his power to gain as much power through, you know, a whole bunch of weird legal loopholes. But, no, this isn't some like random ceremonial mascot or random billionaire. No, this is a actual guy who crowned himself king, built an empire, created his own military faction, minted his own currency, and legally claimed over 100,000 square meters of Swiss land. So, that is actually a whole lot of land. And the wildest part of all this is

0:46 somehow this is technically real. So, meet Jonas Laurer, a 31-year-old Swiss IT specialist who decided normal hobbies, no, they were beyond him. That's way too boring. Instead, he became the royal highness, and I guess the new king of Switzerland. Fascinating LARP, but the LARP has legs. It's kind of real, and that's where it gets very bizarre. Cuz the dude has a crown, a coronation ceremony, an imperial flag, a fake currency, an armored vehicle, military regiments, an empire legion, a palace, and an official website explaining to, I guess, everyone in all seriousness that um he's a real thing. Bro actually gave a NATO briefing on why he's a real king.

1:32 And now Swiss authorities are actually getting nervous about him because underneath all of the LARPing and cos playing here, the guy essentially found a completely legal loophole of Swiss property law that let him slowly acquire abandoned and ownerless land across the country for essentially free. Roads included. So, now there are actual Swiss neighborhoods where residents wake up every morning and technically drive across this dude's kingdom. Land that's essentially owned by him. So, we have a self-proclaimed monarch with an imperial army section on his website and yeah, that's actually a real sentence. I I I can't believe I'm talking about this, honestly. It's safe to say the internet always has a way of surprising me, but apparently you can join this legion. So, if you click the join section and I'm not promoting this whatsoever, it takes

2:18 you to a contact form with a pretty interesting we need you sign. Okay. And yeah, before you think this is some like harmless internet joke, local governments are trying to change laws because of this guy. So, the story starts off honestly in the most absurd way possible. So, according to multiple reports, Jonas, he was born in Switzerland in 1994 to a Swiss father and a Moroccan mother. He works in automation and industrial IT, served in the military for a few years, and by all accounts, he lived a pretty normal life. Then, on his 20th birthday, his father gave him a small piece of land. That's it. That's the origin story. Most people get like a watch or some sort of other family heirloom, but this guy, he received a small plot of land and I guess that just activated some sort of

3:04 hidden emperor gene in this guy because after getting that property, Jonas discovered something incredibly important buried inside of the Swiss property law. Because apparently under article 658 of the Swiss Civil Code, ownerless land can legally be claimed, not stolen, claimed. So, if nobody owns it, um a person can technically register ownership through legal channels. And Jonas realized almost nobody else was taking advantage of this. So, while normal people were spending their free time watching Netflix, this guy was apparently combing through land registries like it was some medieval treasure hunt. Honestly, I think we just found the textbook definition of weaponized autism. Because bro was absolutely scheming here. And apparently it worked. Because over time, he claimed more and more land across the

3:49 Switzerland. Forests, roads, fields, industrial plots, random abandoned parcels, and eventually building what he calls now the Law Winner Empire. The thing that really, I guess, surprises me of all this is are there no property taxes in Switzerland? Because to me this sounds like a very expensive annual bill. 0.1 to 0.3% of the property's assessed value. Okay, so that I mean that's relatively low, at least for US standards, but uh still, I mean if he has 100,000 square meters of land, you would assume that wouldn't be the cheapest bill. And before the dude starts having people move onto his land, he starts charging them taxes so he can pay his own property tax. Who knows? Regardless, I guess at some point once he collected enough land, he realized, "You know what

4:35 this land needs? A monarchy." So in 2019 at the age of 24, he rented a Neudegg Church in Bern and held himself an actual ceremony. So he showed up in full royal clothing with a jewel-covered crown while a choir sang in the background like it was like the ending of some sort of fantasy movie. >> [music] >> And I guess just like that he became king. King of his own lands. And according to reports, many of the attendees were either friends or hired actors, which somehow makes all this even more entertaining. Because imagine getting a gig request that's just like, "Hey man, um can you show up to me crowning myself as king for my land? Thank you." And no, this wasn't done ironically either. This would be an

5:20 amazing bit if it was a bit, but I guess he's very dedicated to the bit, so much so that it's not even a bit anymore. Because I guess Jonas commits to the bit with so much intensity that you could pretty much call it a supervillain origin story. Because once you discover his website, things just get crazier. Because at first you think this is just some eccentric rich guy doing some performance art, but then you open the official uh King of Switzerland website and realize, "Oh wow, this guy has created an entire cinematic universe around himself." I am talking full lore. I mean, there are sections of the Empire Legion, the Imperial Bank, the Royal House, the Lawn Constitution, there's an Imperial Flag, an Imperial Anthem, citizenship applications, military patches, royal titles, and pages written

6:06 with a seriousness of a government archive. And the funniest part is the tone here. Cuz every paragraph sounds like it was written by someone trying to explain the backstory of a fictional European nation in a grand strategy game. Like, you could not tell me this guy doesn't have thousands of hours on Age of Empires. Cuz at one point, the site literally says, "Jonas Larssoner lives between two worlds, everyday practicality and symbolic kingship." Whatever that means. Like, just imagine being his coworker at this IT office he worked at. "Oh, what happened to Jonas?" "Oh, yeah, he became a king." Oh, okay. But somehow it gets even more dramatic from there. Cuz the site goes on to describe how he systematically started acquiring plots of land, and he described the whole thing as his campaign. And his campaign, I guess, was just acquiring a bunch of forests, roads, and abandoned plots as the

6:53 foundation for his land empire. And the site also insists that he's not trying to overthrow Switzerland. He says he respects democracy and Swiss law. In fact, there is this like wholesome section where he starts talking about Switzerland's mountains, lakes, forests, and democratic traditions, like he's filming some sort of like tourism commercial. But then, I guess, two paragraphs later, he's suddenly like, "Field Marshal of the Empire Legion and Admiral of the Empire Fleet." >> [laughter] >> Then uh let's see, there was also a Grand Master of the Order of Merit. Hold on, what? But this man's empire is mostly roads and random forests. Like, why do you need an admiral? But then, of course, we get to the military section, because that's where things get um even more interesting. So, here we have uh the mission, and according to the official website, the Larssoner Empire

7:39 Legion serves as a air, land, and sea base branch of the Empire forces. Who are the Empire for? I'm so confused. Did he go to like the Swiss version of like a Medieval Times pop-up and went, "Gather around. I need my troops for the legion." And then whoever like put their hand up, he was like, "You're in. Come back to the kingdom. Defend it." But hey, I don't know. Again, this is Switzerland, the same country that's famous for being extremely neutral. So I wonder, will they stay neutral about a new king popping up? Who knows? But regardless, now we have a self-appointed king writing military doctrine online. And he [laughter] says that he's preserving the peace and security and providing a defense of the Empire. Not for Switzerland, for the Empire. My

8:24 brother in Christ, the Empire has some roads in Switzerland. I am so confused right now. I think the Swiss army has those roads covered, but what do I know? But then it all escalates to overcoming any nations responsible for aggressive acts that Imperial the peace and security of the Law One or Empire. I again, I am so confused. Um can he stop people like what is the Does Switzerland have stand your ground laws? No, Switzerland does not have stand your ground laws. Instead, Swiss self-defense are strictly governed by the principle of proportionality, requiring your defensive actions are reasonable and you must retreat if possible. Okay, so it's not like he can like keep people off of his land if someone walks onto it. Like he can't use like deadly force. Oh, this is good to know. And before I knew uh Area 51 starts, that's just like the new

9:10 storm Area 51. It's like storm the Law One or Empire. They can't stop us all. I am not endorsing this whatsoever. That's just a joke. This is a hyperbolic joke, guys. This is a hyperbolic joke. But if it did happen, it would be funniest if people showed up dressed like knights. Cuz let's be real, what aggressive acts is he worried about? Like someone parked illegally near one of his forests? Like, bro, when I first found out about this, I was praying it was satire. It suddenly gets very serious and starts talking about military readiness, public security missions, hostile troops, and eliminating local underground elements. What does that even mean? Like, excuse me, what underground elements are you dealing with in suburban Switzerland? Like, I'm growing up in Norway, and we have like we have like huldra, and we have like tidally school again, which means like,

9:56 you know, little trolls that live in the in the forest. And then, of course, you have like and these so blown the sea, which are like, I guess, you know, like fairy tales about Christmas around Christmas. You have like small little Santas that live in the mountains. I don't know. I Switzerland probably has something like that. So, is he worried about the equivalent or the Swiss equivalent of that underground? I don't know. But, then, again, this is real, by the way, the website openly admits that the legion is more accurately described as a paramilitary, which is a funny sentence to include on your personal monarchy website. Like, imagine explaining this to your grandmother. No, Grandma, it's not a fake army. The website specifically says it's a paramilitary. Yeah, I don't know. But, the deeper you go into this website, the more it feels like Jonas just watched

10:42 every historical drama Netflix and decided to combine it all into this like personal story arc. And as if you asked, yes, there is a legion oath. I'm serious, because before joining the Empire Legion, recruits apparently have to swear loyalty before God and to the Empire, their fellow companions, and the emperor. So, he's Is he a king or an emperor? Or are those synonymous with each other? An emperor outranks a king. Hold up. What? So, is he king or emperor? Hold up. Yo, also, emperor penguins look way cooler than king penguins. [music] They just look more royal. Dude, that's awesome. Huh. I swear to emperor penguins live. They don't live in Antarctica, like most other penguins. That's cool. So, anyway, his oath ends with until the end, I swear. I don't know, it's interesting. The dude owns some abandoned roads in

11:27 Switzerland, and is now, I guess, like collecting and gathering an army like they're going to defend Minas Tirith or something like that. But then the website introduces the command structure of the Empire Legion, which is where things become again maybe slightly concerning because according to the site the Legion command oversees multiple regiments with main operating lands. One regiment operates in Switzerland, one operates in Morocco, and one of them really has main operating lands in the Ukraine. Okay. And I feel like this is kind of the moment where it's like hahaha funny guy larping as a king in Switzerland to hold up what is he doing in the Ukraine? What am I even looking at here at this point? I don't know. Now I'm not going to speculate here whatsoever, but he does own a decent amount of military equipment. According to multiple reports and his own website

12:13 he has antique cannons, armored vehicles, and what some outlets describe as a former East German tank. What's going on here? I don't feel like that would affect anything that's currently going on in the Ukraine, but still again hello, what's going on here? I'm also really confused like is he threatening people that drive on his roads? I don't know. But in 2024 he actually tried to bring in the armored vehicle to the federal square in Bern. And authorities said yeah no, please don't do that. Which honestly may have been the funniest government interaction imaginable. Like imagine the Swiss dude who's sitting in the government who had to take that phone call. Hello, yes the self-proclaimed king [music] would like to have permission to drive his tank into the capital. Is that okay? No.

12:59 Okay, I will tell him no. >> [laughter] >> But I guess the thing is Jonas himself insists none of this is dangerous over and over again. He says the empire is just symbolic. He says that he respects Swiss law and he says that he's proud to be Swiss. He also goes on to say he does not want any violence, but then he posts stuff like this. Dude the Law Winner Empire YouTube channel. This is so diabolical. This is actually like this is some aged lore by the way because I mean like this is two old. Actually, scratch the whole bit about him going to Medieval Times, because he probably just went to an airsoft field and he went, "Hey guys, anyone here want to form a militia? I have some forests and roads to protect." Because honestly, I mean, this is the craziest LARP I've seen in a long time. This absolutely beats any of the dudes

13:44 who go to Miami and rent a supercar and LARP as some like rich bro to sell a course. At least this is providing some solid entertainment, because I mean like, from what I can tell, it's essentially harmless. But it's still fascinating to put it lightly. So, he's accumulated 0.3 square miles of land. I want to see what that looks like. Okay, so it's not like that big. I'm seeing like a a plot in Stockholm that's 100,000 square meters here. I mean, it's a few blocks of a city essentially. I mean, regardless, I'm impressed. This is a fascinating use of free will, that's for sure. It's giving like airsoft bros go to ren fair. And I'm not airsoft bros by the way. I I have fun playing airsoft from time to time. I haven't played airsoft in like a decade. But airsoft is pretty fun. But I guess the craziest part about this entire strategy is it actually worked, because while people

14:30 online are laughing at the crown and the military uniforms, local governments are scrambling, because the man genuinely figured out a way to accumulate, I guess, leverage through land ownership. And that's the real reason authorities are nervous. Not the crown, not the militia that he's, I guess, pieced together now. But I guess a lot of the land that Jonas claimed wasn't glamorous. Like a huge amount of it was just abandoned infrastructure, tiny forests, forgotten parcels, and sections of privately developed roads that nobody technically owned anymore. And that sounds harmless until you realize people still use those roads daily. According to reports, over 5,000 people actually drive across those roads owned by Jonas. So, I feel like the funniest thing he could do would be set up toll roads. That'd be such a scumbag thing to do.

15:17 Actually, most likely, if he started setting up toll roads, I have a feeling he would get shot down, Because that's I guess when he's no longer harmless anymore. I also say it's funny when like I hate toll roads so much, but still objectively that could be kind of funny. But it is also kind of funny that thousands of Swiss people are now driving across this random dude's kingdom. And no, he might not have toll roads right now, but he does absolutely monetize this stuff because he says he charges maintenance fees for road usage. He sells construction rights near roads he owns, and he grants access permissions for new developments. [music] So, at one point local officials at Guwensi, I don't know if I pronounced that correctly, but local officials there he reportedly wanted him to reclaim one of the roads. And Jonas initially offered two options, either pay him around 150,000 Swiss francs or

16:03 rename the road after him. Like imagine living on some random suburban street and suddenly your mayor has to seriously discuss whether Law Owner Street is worth avoiding some weird legal dispute with a self-declared monarch. Like what is going on here? I feel like aspects of this could have easily been in a Parks and Recreation episode. But naturally in that instance, local politicians were furious. One official accused him of having an excessive thirst of power and an exacerbated need to put himself forward. But another lawyer accused him of abusive exploitation and tried taking legal action against him. But I guess the lawsuit was dismissed because technically Jonas wasn't breaking the law. This guy didn't hack the system, he didn't scam people, he didn't forge documents. He just found some extremely weird loophole. And the dude just absolutely ran with it. So, now Swiss

16:51 officials just kind of have to deal with this. And apparently a quote from him was, "I do it digitally and without bloodshed." So, hey, at least good for him. But yes, this is why this is probably one of the more ridiculous stories I've covered in a long time because regardless, Jonas I guess objectively achieved what he set out to do. He became famous across Switzerland, he built a recognizable public identity, he gained political attention, and he acquired massive amounts of land, and turned abandoned roads into income streams. And somehow, against all odds, he even entered actual politics. So, and I feel like that's kind of the funniest part of all this is because now you have a self-proclaimed king of Switzerland actually getting elected to a city council seat in Burgdorf. >> [laughter] >> What a fascinating situation. And one of the reasons why I think this is like one

17:36 of the funniest things of this whole story is because somewhere in Switzerland, most likely this means there's a completely normal government meetings where a man dressed as some fictional empire occasionally just shows up. >> [laughter] >> So, yeah, that's the story of the new king of Switzerland. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments down below. If you're new here, feel free to subscribe and drop a like on this video if you enjoyed it, and I'll see you guys in the next video tomorrow. Peace.