5 Neo-Nazis Arrested In Assassination Plot

Five neo-Nazis have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to assassinate leading Norwegian public figures and attack national institutions, police said Saturday.

“I think I can say that they are very central people in (violent neo-Nazi) circles, but further investigation will show how big this case is,” said Ellen Holager Andenaes, head of the Norwegian Police Intelligence Service.

She said the men, all in their early 20s, were being charged under a seldom-used law against conspiring to use violent means to disrupt public order, such as attacking public figures, institutions or the courts.

TV-2 said three were arrested Wednesday in the southern Norwegian town of Hemnes and the other two were arrested in western Norway the same day. It said police seized a list of public figures, a large sum of cash and military hardware, including bullet proof vests, helmets and field equipment but no weapons.

The Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute said the group imported ideology from American and Swedish neo-Nazis.