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Norwegian Terror Suspect Admits To Horrific Attacks, Published Anti-Muslim Manifesto
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 24, 2011
Modified Jul 24, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 24, 2011
Modified Jul 24, 2011
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The suspect in Friday's horrific terror attacks in Norway, who has been accused of killing at least 93 people in coordinated attacks on Norway's government headquarters and a youth retreat, has confessed "to the factual circumstances," according to his lawyer. But self-described Christian Fundamentalist suspect Anders Behring Breivik has denied criminal responsibility for the attacks, and says he wanted to incite a revolution: "He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," said his lawyer Geir Lippestad.
"He wanted a change in society and, from his perspective, he needed to force through a revolution. He wished to attack society and the structure of society," Lippestad further explained. Breivik, 32, is accused of dressing up as a police officer, entering the youth camp on the island of Utoya, and shooting at least 85 people, most of whom were teens attending a youth meeting of the ruling Labour Party. He is also accused of planting explosives at a government building in Oslo, killing seven people and injuring at least 11.
Police are still trying to determine whether Breivik, who claims he acted alone in the attacks, had help in pulling off the dual attacks: "We're not sure it's just one person... based on statements from witnesses, we think there may be more," Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim told reporters. More information has come to light about Breivik and his extremist political views: he was a member of a Swedish online community obsessed with violent hate speech, particularly against immigrants. And it seems that Breivik was an active participant who posted plenty of rambling racist comments on message boards, as well as a disturbing political manifesto.
In the 1,500-page screed, Breivik identifies himself as a right-wing nationalist bent on uprooting the "Muslims," "Marxists" and "multiculturalists." He wrote: "Time is of the essence. We have only a few decades to consolidate a sufficient level of resistance before our major cities are completely demographically overwhelmed by Muslims...The time for dialogue is over. We gave peace a chance. The time for armed resistance has come." Even more disturbingly, a Norwegian website discovered that large parts of the manifesto "2083 - A European Declaration of Independence" is taked directly out of the manifesto of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
And just hours before the killing spree, Breivik uploaded a video manifesto of his extreme-right, anti-Islam and anti-immigration views (from which the above stills are taken). The video, entitled "Knights Templar 2083 - Movie Trailer," has since been removed.
Police have described the first attack in downtown Oslo as an "Oklahoma City-type" bombing which utilized fertilizer and fuel; authorities believe Breivik used a front company to legally stockpile large quantities of the materials. Norwegian police also admitted to a major mistake in handling the attack on the youth camp on the island of Utoya: it seems that police couldn't locate a helicopter or a boat, allowing the gunman to shoot victims for 90 minutes before help arrived. Police wouldn't cross the frigid water to the island without a boat, while on the other side, teens were desperately trying to flee the shooter by swimming to safety.
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Anders Behring Breivik
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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