The vice chairman of the Sweden Democrats in Västerbotten, Pontus Persson, who has previously been a professional soldier, attempted to return to the Armed Forces through the Home Guard but was unexpectedly stopped. He received conflicting information about his security clearance, which was both stated as approved and now incorrectly stated as approved. The Armed Forces stated to Samnytt that the approval had been sent ‘by mistake’. SD top member Richard Jomshof has also testified that he was stopped, and both speculate whether this is about political discrimination. Several other SD politicians have reported similar experiences. Now, Member of Parliament Björn Söder, who sits on the Defense Committee, announces that he will take the matter further.

On Monday, Samnytt reported on the testimonies of SD politicians regarding their applications to the Home Guard, which have encountered a complete stop.

READ MORE: SD politicians denied entry to Home Guard – Jomshof suspects political discrimination

In the case of Member of Parliament Richard Jomshof, the decision came at the same time as he was in the media spotlight for a police report regarding the speech crime of incitement to ethnic hatred, after sharing satirical images with criticism of Islam on social media.

Jomshof emphasized on social media that he himself has a background in the Armed Forces. That he has completed military service and served for several years in the War Delegation in the Parliament, that he is still a member of Sweden’s highest decision-making body, but despite this, he received the notification that he is not suitable to defend the local area.

In a longer post on the social media platform X, Pontus Persson, who is a political expert for the Sweden Democrats in the Västerbotten Region and has previously been a professional soldier in the Armed Forces, explains that he completed the obligatory elements for admission. He encountered no problems in either the security clearance or the security interview and was approved.

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A week before the planned start of the training, he received the notification which he describes as completely unexpected. Persson received an email from the Västerbotten group with the wording:

With regard to information that has emerged in the security clearance, we unfortunately cannot admit you to the Home Guard.

This meant that he was no longer welcome to undergo the planned introductory training, despite previous approval of the security clearance.

Persson contacted the Armed Forces headquarters to clarify the reason for the complete turnaround and the new rejection. There, he was reportedly informed that the security clearance was still approved and that ‘nothing new had emerged’. Despite this, the rejection remained.

Samnytt contacted the Armed Forces on Monday to inquire about the SD politicians’ information regarding the strange notifications against several SD politicians, the authority’s value base questions, and the turns in Pontus Persson’s security clearance.

The authority stated to Samnytt that the previous approval – which normally includes several parts, such as an interview, a check against the criminal record, and a review by the Security Service – ‘occurred by mistake’ for Persson, who had previously been a professional soldier in the same authority.

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“Regarding the specific case you refer to, concerning information about an approved security clearance, it occurred by mistake. It was incorrect information that went out, something we of course regret,” writes communications manager Jessica Dahlin to Samnytt.

Persson: Asked about SD politics

Samnytt has been in contact with Pontus Persson regarding the notification from the Armed Forces, and he claims that it is not true. According to him, the authority’s notification clearly stated that the security clearance was approved and there was no change.

– They never said it was not approved. I have email correspondence about that, he tells Samnytt and also shows various screenshots from the emails.

Persson has shown Samnytt an email conversation with the Armed Forces headquarters on July 3 this year, after he was denied entry to an introductory training, where it clearly states that his security clearance was still approved.

The decision not to admit you to the Home Guard is therefore not based on a reassessment of your security clearance. This has been incorrectly communicated to you in an email, which the Armed Forces regrets.

Armed Forces headquarters July 3, 2025

Zoom in to read the entire email from the Armed Forces headquarters:

Pontus Persson is confused about the different notifications he received about his security clearance and disappointed about the notification of not being allowed to participate in the Home Guard.

When you find out that they ‘look at the person’s loyalty, reliability, and vulnerability from a security perspective’ in the clearance and then receive the notification that you, as a former professional soldier, are now denied – how do you feel then?

– Then I don’t really understand. I know where they would find that I do not meet those criteria, but it’s about the same as they wrote to Jomshof as well. Loyalty, I don’t really understand… I am committed and a parliamentary candidate for Sweden’s second largest party, so why would I not be loyal to Sweden.

You mentioned that you were asked about the value base of the party during the security interview. Can you tell us what the questions were?

– They asked a lot about the party’s value base and if it matched that there are people in the Armed Forces with a different sexual orientation, if I bought or supported the party’s value base regarding their view on people with a different sexual orientation, says Persson and continues:

– They asked about it several times. Then they asked if people had different political opinions about me, if I could handle that.

Do you plan to raise this within the party in the future?

– I’ll see. I’m not very eager to pursue a crusade against the Armed Forces. If they don’t want me, they don’t want me. It’s sad, but that’s how it is.

– I tried to reason with them over email but it didn’t work. This was probably just to see what reaction one got, and there were several others who had the same experience.

Samnytt has asked further questions to the Armed Forces about the different notifications sent to Pontus Persson regarding his security clearance, the final notification that he is not welcome in the Home Guard, and the value base questions that several SD politicians have testified about. The authority has not yet responded at the time of writing.

Björn Söder: ‘Completely unacceptable’

Samnytt has been in contact with former Speaker of the Parliament Björn Söder (SD), who now sits on the Defense Committee, regarding the cases where SD politicians with a military background who want to support in the deteriorating security situation have been denied entry to the Home Guard.

The SD top member announces that he will pursue the issue further and describes it as ‘completely unacceptable’ if the Armed Forces engage in political discrimination.

How do you, as a member of the Defense Committee, view the information that has now emerged that SD politicians with a military background who want to support have been denied entry to the Home Guard and are not informed of the reason?

– It is of course difficult to comment on individual cases and the reasons for the denials. But if their political involvement is the reason, it is really bad. At the same time, when you take part of the information, you get a feeling that it could very well be this that is the reason.

The Armed Forces stated to Samnytt that they ‘look at the person’s loyalty, reliability, and vulnerability from a security perspective’ in the security clearance. How do you view these word choices in relation to the fact that two SD politicians with a military background have been denied?

– Based on my experiences of these two, whom I know well, it is very remarkable. They, if anyone, have demonstrated loyalty to Sweden through their commitments and are both reliable. I have more difficulty commenting on their vulnerability from a security perspective, but when I hear that Pontus had his security clearance approved and was still rejected afterwards, and Richard, who sat on the War Delegation, is denied, I am dismayed. We need loyal and reliable forces in our defense, given the security situation.

Both Jomshof and Persson suggest that it is likely about political discrimination, while the Armed Forces do not want to account for the reasons and refer to confidentiality. What measures do you, as a member of the Parliament, intend to take within the committee in light of this?

– I will certainly take this with me. It is completely unacceptable if the Armed Forces engage in political discrimination. Unfortunately, they will never admit if that were the case, but this should be investigated as far as possible.

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