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Nordic Resistance Movement banned in Finland – the history of the court case and what the Nazis are doing now
by johan

    While preparing to appear in the Court of Appeals in 2018, the NRM founded two new associations. The goal of the first association was to collect the 5000 signatures required to register a political party and the other association were to continue the Suomalaisapu (“Finn Help”) charity that was earlier administered by the NRM. The party project Kansan yhtenäisyys (“the Peoples Unity”) was a total failure and was abandoned within one year since the Nazis could not get the signatures required. It is unclear whether the party project was coordinated by the Swedish leadership of the NRM or if it was a local Finnish project rushed together due to the court case. In Sweden the NRM had tried to establish a parliamentary wing the same year but abandoned the idea when they failed to interest voters.

    Finnish newspaper Seura could also reveal that the NRM activist Jesse “Eppu” Torniainen had registered companies under the names “Altstadt OÜ” and “Haamer-Kirjastus OÜ” in Estonia during 2018. Apart from founding new associations and front companies it is probable that the NRM have as of now begun handling all of their finances through personal accounts or in cash.

    The Turku Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court judgement to ban the NRM in the autumn of 2018, and shortly after a group of Finnish and Swedish NRM activists marched through the streets of Helsinki with their flags in a surprise protest. This would be one of the last times the rune logo was seen publicly in Finland. In 2018 the NRM had been active in Finland for a decade, and the Nazis decided to boast about their achievements one last time before being banned. The NRM then publicly admitted to being co-founders of the “612” torch parade as well (another Independence Day event with a more toned-down nationalist and neo-fascist image). To anti-fascists this was no news since the connection had been evident in photographs and coordination since the beginning.

    Just before the Independence Day in December 2018 the NRM decided to appeal to the Supreme Court in a last-minute attempt to save their tradition of arranging a national socialist march in Helsinki. Anti-fascists mobilized once more against both the openly Nazi “Kohti vapautta” demonstration as well as against the fascist “612” torch parade.

    The Kohti vapautta demonstration on Independence Day 2018 is as of now the last time the NRM independently organized a public demonstration in Finland. The final event did not go according to their plans either: the NRM brought Nazi Germany swastika flags to the event, which were quickly confiscated and the activists carrying them were arrested by the police.