Salon La Tour, France: French police have arrested ex-convict and Breivik-sympathizer, Kristian Vikernes claiming that he was planning a “massacre.” Police searched his home and found a number of firearms recently purchased by his wife.
The French Interior Ministry released a statement on Tuesday saying 40-year-old Kristian Vikernes and his wife, Marie Cachet, were a “potential threat to society” and had been taken into custody.
The statement also said authorities had intercepted comments posted on the internet by Vikernes that led them to believe he could be planning an attack.
“This individual close to the neo-Nazi movement was a potential threat to society, as evidenced by his violent remarks intercepted on the web,” said the statement.
Police searched the black metal singer’s house in the southern region of Correze, looking for firearms and explosives. They reportedly found four rifles which Vikernes’ wife had purchased with her firearms permit.
The mayor of Salon La Tour, where Vikernes and his wife lived, said the arrest had surprised him
“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 BFM TV.
Vikernes moved to France in 2010 with his wife and three children after serving 15 years in a Norwegian prison for the murder of fellow band member Oystein Aarseth. He was also convicted of arson after being found guilty of setting fire to a number of Christian churches in Oslo.
Vikernes, who had been described by critics “as the most notorious metal artist of all time,” contributed to the founding of the black metal movement in Norway during the early 90s. The movement was accused of being behind a number of“satanically motivated” crimes committed during the height of its popularity.
