Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Man Assaulted by Finnish Neo-Nazi Group Linked to the Soldiers of Odin Dies

Our readers who have been following ARC’s series on the Canadian branch of the Soldiers of Odin are aware that the group originated in Finland and was founded by Mike Ranta:

Prior to founding the Soldiers of Odin, Ranta, an avowed “White Nationalist” and neo-Nazi, was and still is a member of the Finnish Resistance Movement:

Ranta, who was convicted of a 2005 racially-motivated attack against two immigrants, admits readily to being a neo-Nazi — “Yes, I am” — but insists his ideology and membership in the Finnish Resistance Movement has nothing to do with the patrols. 

“Just because I am, as the founder or whatever, it doesn’t mean the whole group are (neo-Nazis)… We’re just a street patrol group, so why are people making it into something else?,” Ranta argued.

Since the publication of the above article, Ranta has been convicted of aggravated assault and given an 18 month suspended sentence for his attack on a man and woman.

Soldiers of Odin Canada, founded by Manitoba resident Joel Angott, was authorized by Ranta’s original Finnish chapter to begin operations in Canada:

This past week, members of the Finnish Resistance Movement assaulted a man during a rally. That man later passed away as a result of his injuries:

FINNISH MAN DIES AFTER BEING ASSAULTED BY NEO-NAZISPosted on 17.9.2016 by mikael 

A Finnish man, Jimi Joonas Karttunen, that was assaulted by neo-Nazis from the Finnish Resistance Movement (FRM) Saturday the 10th of September has died of his injuries. The news was first given by his father Kauko-Vesa Karttunen in a Facebook post on Saturday and the identity of the man has since then been confirmed by other sources, including an old school friend that Kaivuri has talked to. The assault against the 28 year old Karttunen happened during a demonstration by FRM in the center of Helsinki. Karttunen was assaulted from the back by members of FRM and hit his head as he fell on the ground, after he had expressed his dissent to the protestors. 

What is clear so far is that the victim was hospitalised shortly after the attack due to severe head trauma and remained in intensive care for several days. He was released from the hospital on Thursday but began to suffer from intense headaches again on Friday and called the emergency services. When the emergency services arrived he had already lost consciousness and was proclaimed dead on Friday at 10 PM. 

FRM released a video of Karttunen lying on the ground next to a pool of blood on Sunday the 12th of September. In an accompanying text, the organization said they had to ‘discipline’ some people who challenged them, effectively confessing members of the group were behind the assault. Several pictures connected to the article show known members of the organization, giving an idea of which people were present. 

The police have, nonetheless, been reluctant comment on the events to mainstream media outlets (1,2,3,4) and refused to verify whether a causal relation between the death of Karttunen, but confirm that the case is under investigation. Meanwhile, in a post on their website, the Antifascist network Varis has connected names to the faces visible in the pictures published by FMR. Several of the whom have a record of violence against people of colour, queers and political opponents. 

Kaivuri will participate in all efforts to bring the attackers to justice and we will continue to update as the situation develops.

The FRM propaganda video of the aftermath can be seen at about 2:06:

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Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: June 2016 Bits and Bites: Paul Fromm, Robert Reitmeier, Tyler Sturrup, Canadians United 4 Canada, and Assault on Muslim Woman

A few things have occurred over the past few days that we figure warrant some discussion, though not necessarily stand alone posts.

First on the agenda is another example of Paulie having a bad day, which is generally a good day for most people. He was scheduled to give a speech in Victoria, however the manager contacted him to let Paulie know he was’t welcome. Paulie accepted the news with the quiet dignity he is well known for:

Or he whined and claimed his free speech rights have been curtailed while presenting the event as an epic struggle for freedom of expression. I mean, either way, right?

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Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Soldiers of Odin: 81 Problems and a Snitch Ain’t One of Them

There are times when this writer is not only able to expose bigot to public scrutiny, but also indulge in a bit of historical geekery. Those are good days.

And this is one of those days.

When examining the Soldiers of Odin it is easy to focus exclusively on the rampant racism found amongst a number of individuals who are drawn to the group as well as the Islamophobia which is the Soldiers of Odin calling card. But it can be easy to miss the incredible hypocrisy of an organization ostensibly founded to protect “our” (read: white) women and children from the swarthy hordes at the gate:

Because sexual violence was NEVER a problem in Europe or Oz before Muslims arrived…

Then again, the misogynistic rhetoric of some members and supporters of the Soldiers of Odin sort of calls into question this claim:

Craig claims to be the Sergeant at Arms- Ontario East Division at Soldiers Of Odin Ontario

More on Arran Taylor later.

For an organization set up ostensibly to protect women, the Soldiers of Odin has a real image problem (again, that’s besides the link to overt racists who are members of the SOO in good standing). That image problem begins with the name of the organization itself.

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