Britannian Purist Faction

The Purist Faction, also known as the Purebloods or simply Purists, are a political and military faction within the Holy Britannian Empire that opposes the system of honorary citizenship, claiming that neither Britannian society nor its military should be sullied by foreigners. They would also use underhanded means in order to support their system. The most notable example was of how Suzaku Kururugi was used as a scapegoat in regards to the murder of Prince Clovis.

Organization Outline
The Factions main political ideals are that Britannia should abolish the system of "Honorary Citizenship" in which subjects of conquered colonies can apply to become second class citizens and gain some basic human rights, they are particularly against the idea of these citizens having the ability to serve within the military forces (even though they are mostly used as inferior Irregular troops) and that such important roles within the empire should only be upheld by those bred with Britannian nationality and bloodlines.

This ties into their "PureBlood" identity, as this term is used to describe groups of highly elitist Britannians who are descended from the original British aristocrats that fled to the new world of North America, which became the foundation for the homeland of Holy Britannia. As such, members of the Purist Faction are shown to hold high ranking with the Britannian military and aristocracy hierarchy, with most of its members being Knights (honorary title) or holding some form of Nobility to their name (for example their leader Jeremiah held the title of Margrave) Members of the Purist Faction are identified from regular military personal by a red armband worn on their right arm, and a unique red winged pin badge on the lapel of their uniforms.

Organization History
The exact date of which the Purist Faction was established is unknown, however they are shown to be well established as a military group with a large number of members by the beginning of Season 1, with Jeremiah Gottwald seen acting as the factions current leader.

Prior to the death of Area 11's Viceroy Prince Clovis, the Purists held rather minimal status within the Britannian social hierarchy, and didn't appear to be having much success in pushing their anti-Honorary Citizenship policy any further and are shown to be just another unit within the main military, with the only known regiments part of the Purist Faction being the G.G.D.C.F. 5th Regiment, the "K" Powered Task Company, the Knightmare "B" Platoon, and Squad #733. They are seen leading the military forces during the operation to eradicate the Shinjuku Ghetto. However after the murder of Prince Clovis in the midst of the skirmish, the Purist Faction leader, Jeremiah Gottwald, takes over as Area 11's Acting-Consul and the Faction uses this opportunity to push for "PureBlood supremacy" in Area 11. In attempt to completely be rid of Honaray Britannians within the military, the Purists formulate a plan to unlawful frame Pvt. Suzaku Kururugi (a Japanese citizen and Honorary Britannian soldier) for Clovis's murder, using him as a scapegoat in the hopes that it would show how Honaray Citizens cannot be trusted and have no place within the Empire. Being that the Purebloods were leading the investigation, the eventual trial was rigged as fabricated evidence was used and actual evidence and testimonies to prove Suzaku's innocence were deemed as inadmissible (also Suzaku was equipped with a torture device which prevented him from actually speaking) With Suzaku scheduled to be executed, it seemed that the Purist Factions plot was on schedule and would finally abolish the idea of foreigner enrollment within the military. However, during the parade to the execution grounds they are interrupted by a masked assailant who publicly reveals himself as Zero and the real killer of Prince Clovis. Zero hints that Jeremiah Gottwald was bribed conspiring with the terrorist plot by referring to him as "Orange" In the midst of the confusion, Lelouch uses his Geass on Jeremiah ordering him to assist them in rescuing Suzaku, Jeremiah obeys this and directly orders all members of the Purist Faction and soldiers to stand down, leading to their ultimate escape with Suzaku. After this humiliating incident, dubbed as the Orange Incident by many, the Purists name and reputation within the Britannian military and social hierarchy is severely ruined, with allot of in-fighting between its core members and some members even leaving the faction entirely. Despite all of this Jeremiah still remained as the Factions leader (even when being de-moted three ranks for his failure to capture Zero) and this ultimately lead to once members, who were once loyal to his leadership, questioning his loyalty to the Faction and blaming him for the Purists downfall. Soon afterwards, Kewell Soresi, (a dedicated member of Faction and someone who once held respect towards Jeremiah) conspires with other members of the Purists to remove Jeremiah as the leader, in the hopes that with his name gone from the Faction, the PureBloods can be restored to their former glory, especially before the second Princess Cornelia li Britannia arrives to assume the role of Area 11's new Viceroy. Leading Jeremiah far out to the Shinjuku Ghetto Stadium with false reports of Zero being spotted in the area, Kewell leads a squad of Purist Knightmares who attempt to kill Jeremiah in a skirmish, of which they almost succeed in doing so only to be stopped by Suzaku who was piloting the Lancelot, and Euphemia who orders the Purists to stand down once she reveals herself as the Third Princess of the Empire. From this point, the Purists members cease hostilities towards Jeremiah but still hold grave mistrust in him, referring to him by his hated nickname of "Orange". After the Orange Skirmish, from this point of the reputation of the Purist Faction has completely plummeted, so much so that any later military battles they were involved in resulted in them being cast aside as the back-line guard or placed on stand by, and not placed onto combat as a front line unit. In addition, by this stage many of the Factions members had left or been transferred to other Area's, leaving the Faction with a petty amount of members. As Kewell Soresi described it the incident effectively "ended their careers" The Purist Faction was last seen present during the Battle of Narita, however due to their disgraced name and Jeremiahs fall in the rankings, acting commander Cornelia has them placed far behind in the back line much to the dismay of Jeremiah himself. As the battle progressed, the Britannian forces learn that it is not just the JLF they are fighting, but also the terrorist movement known as the Black Knights being lead by Zero. Upon hearing this news, Jeremiah desserts his post and moves into the surrounding hoping to find Zero and defeat him to reclaim his honor, needless to say the rest of Purist unit follows him into battle. Immediately encountering Zero, Jeremiah impulsively charges at his Knightmare only to come face to face with Kallen who had acquired the Guren Nishiki. Despite warnings from other members of the faction not to engage this unknown model of Knightmare, Jeremiah attempts to strike it only to be gripped by the Gurens deadly Radiant Wave Surger arm and his Sutherland is destroyed, with Jeremiah severely injured and presumed dead (despite the cockpit Ejection System ejecting) The other members of the Purist Faction looked on in shock at the power of this Knightmare, some tried to engage the Guren only to share the same fate. Kewell Soresi and most members of the Faction are ultimately killed at the hands of Kallen and the Guren. After the battle, the only surviving member of the Purists was believed to be Villetta Nu, and with their leader Jeremiah not showing on any official after action death records, the Faction was effectively dissolved on a.t.b April 2nd 2017, and has not been known to have re-emerged since.

Knightmares
Most members of the Purist Faction were considered to be elite Knightmare Frame pilots. Being apart of the main military, they are seen piloting the RPI-13 Sutherland, Britannia's primary Knightmare for the army. The Sutherlands used by the Purist Faction are distinguished by their custom colors of the FactSphere head cover and shoulders which have a red maroon color. It also seems that their Sutherlands are among the few that use jousting lances for combat or ceremonial purposes, and Stun Tonfas for close-quarters combat or self-defense, as seen when the Purists led by Kewell Soresi attempted to kill Jeremiah Gottwald at the stadium in the Shinjuku Ghetto.

Trivia
All members of the Purist Faction had serial numbers:
 * Jeremiah Gottwald - Serial #: 4097112-5508
 * Kewell Soresi - Serial #: 5431023-5626
 * James.Z. Machlin - Serial #: 4097322-6784