The Swedish Minister for Migration Johan Forssell has admitted that his sixteen-year-old son was involved in far-right online groups. “As a father, you are shocked by that,” he said. Forssell hopes it will be an eye-opener for other parents.
Forssell came out with the news on Thursday after the activist magazine Expo wrote that a “direct family member” of a minister was active in far-right groups on the internet. Forssell is a member of the center-right party Moderaterna.
The minister said he was unaware of what his son was doing until he was approached by journalists from Expo a few weeks ago. “Maybe many parents realize that they don’t have complete control over what their children do on social media,” he told Swedish news channel TV4.
According to Expo, Forssell’s son was involved in, among other things, the neo-Nazi group Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) and two other groups. He is also said to have recruited new members. The son is not currently suspected of any crimes.
According to Forssell, his son has since severed ties with the group and is very sorry. The minister says he has had “long and important conversations” with his son. Forssell told TV4 that other political parties “hope to score points” with this, but that he does not intend to resign because of this matter.