The Swedish immigration minister says he will not resign after revealing that his teenage son has ties to a white supremacist group.
Johann Forsel confirmed Thursday the “close relative” of the pastor, recently named by the anti-racist Watchdog Expo, who was named as his 16-year-old son, “active on the far right.”
Forssell said he had no idea about his son’s activities until he was contacted by the national security services a few weeks ago and had followed all the proper protocols.
“It probably has something to do with many parents not fully grasping what their children are doing on social media,” he told Swedish broadcaster TV4.
Forssell’s comments came after Expo said last week that a relative of the government minister had “collaborated” with members of the Neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) group.
Expo also said that the relatives were involved in two other extremist groups – reportedly recruiting members as one of the members.
Magnus Lanstoup, a veteran terrorist researcher and associate professor at the Swedish University of Defense, said the group that teenagers were involved was more refined by recruiting young people online.
He also said they also use the physical skills of members as a means of attracting new employees in some cases.
Forssell – who is openly critical of political extremism and defends parental responsibility when it comes to youth involved in crime – says he didn’t publicly deal with them when he found them out of obligation to their children.
“It wasn’t about protecting me as a politician, it was about protecting minors,” he said.
Forssell also explained the situation on social media in his own words, as he said.
He said he and his wife had “long and important conversations” with their son.
“This is a closed chapter,” he added, explaining that a Swedish security service known as SAPO told him that his son’s activities were primarily carried out on social media and that he had not been investigated for the crime.
Dr. Lanstrup, who is involved in many security threat assessments, said that the activities of Folesel’s son could be a security issue if progressed, but warned that it was not.
He added that the safety of young people whose identity has been revealed online and the right to freedom of expression should also be considered.
“He’s going to have to live with this for the rest of his life,” Dr. Lancetop said.
Prime Minister Wolf Christerson says he is “confident” in the minister.
“I think Johann Folesel acted as a responsible parent when he learned that your child was wrong and in a bad company,” Christerson wrote on social media.
But Forssell and the broader Swedish central right minority government are facing double standard accusations and are facing blind eye when countering extremism.
Opposition parties said Wednesday that they would summon the minister before parliamentary committees after lawmakers return from summer holidays.
Kristersson’s government has been in power since 2022 and is facing backlash to work with the Social Democrats (SD), an extremist anti-immigrant party founded by Nazi sympathizers.
