Burzum’s Varg Vikernes Provides Detailed Account of French Arrest

The always controversial Varg Vikernes of Burzum had an eventful week, being arrested (and then released from custody) in France on suspicion of planning a massacre and/or a large-scale terrorist threat. Never one to pipe down about his experiences, Vikernes, known for his extreme political viewpoints and for being a Nazi sympathizer, posted five lengthy and detailed accounts of his arrest.

In the first blog, Vikernes, who went to prison for killing fellow black metal scene presence Euronymous of Mayhem in the '90s, explained that he was awakened by someone trying to break into his home and because he realized it was the cops, he did not attempt to arm himself and defend his home. According to his story, the officers shot their way in.

His pregnant wife thought of reaching for a weapon, but did not, instead trying to comfort their young and scared son. He mentioned wearing orange underwear because they were part of a set. We think he was joking or trying to make light of a difficult situation.

He wrote that they "arrested me, laying me face down in the bed with handcuffs on my back. To my great surprise they also arrested and put handcuffs on my pregnant wife, leaving my shocked youngest son sitting there alone without his mother’s protection."

Vikernes does seem to say that he was treated somewhat fairly by French police, in contrast to the way Norwegian authorities had handled him through the years. He said that he and his wife were not abused or tricked into incriminating one another when questioned separately after their arrests.

To his credit, Vikernes' blogs about his arrest are not overly drenched in rhetoric ranting or raving or hatespeak. He recalled the arrest and the subsequent events chronologically and without a strident infusion of his personal politics.

The first blog is here. The second can be accessed here. The third, fourth and fifth are also available online.