VARG VIKERNES Arrested In France For Planning A “Massacre”
Tuesday, 16th July 2013
French radio RTL reports that black metal musician Kristian “Varg” Vikernes has been arrested and taken to custody in the Correze region of France today. The police suspect the Norwegian national of planning a “massacre” and are currently searching his house for weapons and explosives. His wife, a French national and a member of a shooting club, had recently legally purchased four rifles.
This is not the first time Vikernes, the man behind black metal project BURZUM, has spent time behind bars. He had previously been sentenced to 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. Following his release, he moved to France with his wife and three children.
Vikernes, a vocal neo-nazi sympathizer, reportedly received 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 at 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 Burzum.org, Vikernes discusses Breivik’s manifesto, but also criticises him for killing innocent Norwegians.
