A far-right terror group in Finland plotted to assassinate Prime Minister Sanna Marin and start a race war after using 3D printers to make firearms, a court has heard
- Four men are charged with planning a terrorist attack and possessing firearms
A far-right terror group in Finland plotted to kill Prime Minister Sanna Marin and start a race war after using 3D printers to make firearms, a court has heard.
Four men are on trial in Lahti on charges of planning a terrorist attack and possessing firearms.
According to police, the men followed “accelerationism” – the idea that capitalism or processes derived from it should be deepened or accelerated to trigger radical change.
The idea came in the context of a wave of hate killings in the United States, including the 2022 shooting in Buffalo in which 10 black people died.
The men allegedly made firearms using 3D printers. Raids on their properties revealed a list of targets including MPs, minority groups and anti-fascist activists.
Two of the defendants openly discussed the murder of Sanna Marin at a Social Democratic Party event in Lahti in 2022. They shared information that she would appear on Telegram
Two of the defendants openly discussed killing Marin at a Social Democratic Party event in Lahti in 2022. They shared information that she would appear on Telegram.
When questioned, one of the men said: “The FGC-9 weapon was within reach and I could have reached the market in Lahti by car in less than ten minutes.” “At the same time, I was talking about these things on Telegram, which was theoretical would represent an opportunity for a political assassination attempt.”
The FGC-9 is a 3D printable pistol caliber semi-automatic carbine.
The defendant argued that they did not seriously commit to a terrorist attack because they did not implement the plan.
He described the conversation as an “ordinary joke” about how easy it was to carry out an attack on a Finnish head of state, saying they were simply letting off steam and looking for extreme experiences.
One defendant described the conversation between the two as “ordinary banter” about how easy it was to carry out an attack on a Finnish head of state, saying they were just blowing off steam and looking for extreme experiences (file photo).
One of the men is on trial for firearms offenses and the other three are charged with terrorism.
During the raids, officers also discovered the address of Maria Ohisalo, a former leader of the Green League party who served as interior minister between 2019 and 2021.
When asked about their targets, one defendant said they viewed them as enemies of “nationalists” and possible sources of information.
He said: “I am openly ethno-nationalist, I know what it leads to when there are too many ethnicities in the same space.”
“These ethnic groups are starting to pursue their own interests as a group, and that doesn’t result in anything good for the Finns. “However, I didn’t intend to shoot people or anything like that.”
Other locations cited targets such as the offices of the socialist party Left Alliance, a volunteer-run bookstore and vegan cafe, and an alternative nightclub in Tampere, a city in southern Finland.
Detective Inspector Tuomas Kuure told Finnish broadcaster YLE that the suspects used terms related to accelerationism such as “race war” and “incitement” in their messages.