[icheerthebull]

Black metal musician and neo-Nazi sympathiser Kristian “Varg” Vikernes was arrested in southwestern France on Tuesday after investigators decided he might stage a large “terrorist act”, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said. The police suspect the Norwegian national of planning a “massacre” and searched his house for weapons and explosives.


Vikernes, 40, a well-known black metal musician in Norway, was arrested with his French wife Marie Chachet after she recently bought four rifles, Valls said in a statement.

“Having received the manifesto before (Breivik) committed his crimes and having been sentenced in Norway in the past for murder, this individual, who was close to a neo-Nazi movement, was likely to prepare a large terrorist act,” Valls said.

Cachet, a member of a shooting club, purchased the rifles legally with her shooting permit. “The investigation will notably establish the conditions in which these (rifles) were acquired and their real objective,” Valls said.

The anti-terrorist prosecutor has been put in charge of the investigation. In a statement, the French Ministry of the Interior deemed him “likely to prepare a large-scale act of terrorism”.

Vikernes, the man behind black metal project Burzum, had spent 21 years in prison – the maximum sentence in Norway – for the murder of Øystein Aarseth, known as Euronymous, the guitar player of black metal band Mayhem.

Vikernes had also been convicted of arson attacks on four churches, he was freed in May 2009. He then moved to France with his wife and three children.

Vikernes, a Pagan and vocal neo-Nazi sympathiser, had reportedly received a copy of the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right terrorist responsible for the July 2011 Oslo bombing and Utoeya Massacre which left 77 dead. Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in jail for terrorism on August 2012.

Breivik sending a copy of a manifesto setting out his ideology to Vikernes, an official at the prosecutor’s office said. “That was the origin of the investigation… There were several suspicions that made the services fear he could possibly carry out a violent act,” the official said.

On his website, Vikernes discusses Breivik’s manifesto, but in a post called “War in Europe: Part V – Breivik Unveiled” he also criticises the murderer for killing more innocent Norwegians than Muslims. Vikernes, who describes himself as a “pagan,” accuses Breivik of being a Zionist agent and “Christian loser”.

“If you, dear European nationalists, really want to save Europe (as a biological term) you have to realise that the only thing to do is to cast aside all Christian other international nonsense and embrace only the European (i.e. Pagan) values and ideals and if you like the European deities as well,” said the posting, dated December 13. “If you work for Christianity in any way you work for the Jews. Plain and simple.”

The mayor of Salon La Tour, where Vikernes and his wife lived, said he had been surprised by the arrest. “I didn’t notice anything strange (about Vikernes) other than that he liked to wear military costumes and liked Gothic music,” Jean-Claude Chauffour told French media BFM TV.

[Hobbslefthand]

Thanks for the post.
I wonder just what other concrete evidence they had (if any).
Would like to make it clear from the outset that I in no way sympathise with this guy. I find him dull, tedious and wrong headed for the most part.
That said, on what grounds did they have probable cause? Receiving an email update from the blog of a nutter?
I know he raised some churches to the ground, but from what I gather these acts of vandalism were carried out at night (don't know if anyone died, don't think so).
I know he had a fight with another metaler and ended up stabbing him.
But full-scale act of terrorism/massacre? Not so sure, be interesting to find out more.
What can they charge him with and what will they do, imprisonment or deportation?

[icheerthebull]

In Europe and the states you don't really need any concrete evidence to arrest someone if you use the magic 'T' word. Norway is not part if the EU so they could deport him. With regard to his conviction is wasn't a fight, euronymous was in his boxer shorts and unarmed when Varg stabbed him 20 times, was plain murder. From the reports it does not seem they have anything on him, having said that I would not put it past him at all

[GODREKR]

Varg isn't a threat. He's not smart enough. He's just an attention whore. I wish they'd put him in jail and burn it down.