According to anti-racist magazine Expo, which broke the story, a Swedish government minister has a family member who is active in Sweden's extreme right and white supremacist movements. They have also tried to recruit people to the white supremacist organisation Det fria Sverige (The Free Sweden) via social media.
It's also claimed the family member has collaborated closely with an activist from Nordiska motståndsrörelsen (Nordic Resistance Movement).
The unnamed person has reportedly also taken part in activities alongside Aktivklubb Sverige, a violent neo-Nazi organisation.
According to Expo, Swedish security police (Säpo) were unaware of the connection between the minister and their family member.
"Regarding what information we do or don't have when it comes to the work we do protecting the central government leadership, that's something we can't go into in detail," Säpo press spokesperson Johan Wikström told the TT newswire.
Wikström told TT later via email that Säpo "constantly monitors violent extremist movements" and "generally has good knowledge of the situation when it comes to security around the people we protect."
The government's deputy head of communications Linda Hallenberg said that the person in question is a child.
"This is regarding a child who is not a public individual. Security surrounding the minister is an issue for Säpo and further questions should be directed to them. Säpo has information on this," she told the TT newswire in a written comment.
Sweden's right-wing government is made up of ministers from three different parties: the Moderates, Liberals and Christian Democrats. There are no ministers from the far-right Sweden Democrats, who support the government.
Kim Hakkarainen, a Swedish security expert with a background within the country's Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST), told Expo that the situation is "serious".
"That's a good word to sum it up," he said, adding that the minister's connection to the person in question could be a security risk.
"It's a weakness which could be used by an antagonist, for example another state or antagonistic actor who wants to harm Sweden, in order to influence or use the minister's family member as an enabler," he said.
Expo has contacted the minister, but has not received a response. The magazine managed to link the family member to six social media accounts on four different platforms. Five of the accounts were anonymous. These accounts included images of the person putting up racist stickers in a school and in their local neighbourhood.
The person's private account was followed by family members ‒ including the minister ‒ as well as people linked to the far-right.
The family member's accounts were made private after the newspaper contacted the minister's press secretary.
Why haven't the Swedish media named the minister?
Naming the minister risks identifying the family member, who is underage. Swedish media are usually highly restrictive when it comes to naming people who are not public figures. The Swedish publicity rules read: "Carefully consider the consequences of publishing names if it could harm people. Refrain from such publication unless stating the name is clearly in the public interest."
Correction: An earlier version of this article described the family member as being an active neo-Nazi. They are active in white power groups and the extreme right, and have contact with neo-Nazis.
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