UPDATE: Varg Vikernes and his wife have been released from prison after French authorities were “unable to identify specific terrorist plans or terrorist target,” Metal Injection reports. He’ll have to appear in court soon due to a “breach of racism law in France,” which most likely stems his highly offensive online tirades against Jews, immigrants, and many, many others.
ORIGINAL POST: Convicted murderer, proud neo-Nazi, and all-around charmer Varg Vikernes may be in jail on suspicion of plotting a “massacre,” but his former lawyer says the case is “thin.”
French police arrested Vikernes, the singer for black-metal act Burzum, and his wife Marie Cachet on the morning of Tuesday, July 16, purportedly as a preventative measure before they could carry out acts of terror. Vikernes has been under surveillance after receiving the manifesto of Anders Breivik, the Norwegian man who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011, and the anti-terrorism case launched in July after Cachet legally purchased four rifles. “There were several suspicions that made the services fear he could possibly carry out a violent act,” French police said.
But Vikernes’ ex-lawyer, John Christian Elden, said the evidence against Varg is “less than what Norwegian Police Security Service tend to have every time they arrest Islamists in Norway and release them a short time later,” according to Blabbermouth. French Interior Minister Manuel Vall admitted there was “no target, no identified project” but that they decided to “act before and not after” whatever it is Vikernes might do, Euronews reports.
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Vikernes’ most recent racist rant came after a train crash in Paris, which he blamed on the usual suspects (Jews, immigrants, socialists, etc.). Interestingly enough, he did urge his followers to fight back, within the law: “For obvious reasons I will not encourage anybody to take any illegal actions to end the European genocide, but there is much you can do that is not yet illegal.” Of course, that’s probably the only sane thing the self-described “romantic” said in the entire post.
It’s also worth remembering that this is the same dude who murdered Mayhem guitarist Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth, burned down three churches, stockpiled explosives and bullets, and served 15 years in jail for his crimes.
