Called politicians pedophiles - convicted of incitement to ethnic hatred

A 66-year-old man in Skellefteå has been convicted of incitement to ethnic hatred and ordered to pay 5,800 SEK to the state, after accusing those in power of being pedophiles. The convicted 66-year-old, who was denied a public defender, feels it is futile to appeal.
– It’s just a matter of paying up and moving on, he tells Samnytt.

“This is what happens when pedophiles get to decide”

In November 2023, a 66-year-old man in Skellefteå comments on a TV segment on Swedish television about Bland drakar och dragqueens.

The theater group, known for its drag queen shows for children with men dressed as women, has sparked strong reactions, especially among those who are against pedophilia, who argue that children should be kept away from adult sexual orientations.

Accused of a hate campaign

The man behind the eight words writes them as a comment on the TV segment, which appeared in his Facebook feed. He is not aware that it was the theater group itself that posted the video clip on their social media page, something that is later confirmed in police interrogation.

In March 2024, Bland drakar och dragqueens begins mass-reporting negative or hostile comments that the group has received. The 66-year-old man’s comment is one of them.

The reports are taken up by the Democracy and Hate Crime Unit at the Stockholm Regional Police Authority. The anonymous reporter then points out Nazis and the Sweden Democrats as those behind the resistance to their drag queen shows for children.

– There has been an uninterrupted hate campaign for two weeks. Day and night. It’s like a tsunami coming in, the anonymous reporter tells in the interrogation.

The 66-year-old is considered part of this “tsunami”.

Directed at politicians

In January this year, over a year after the comment was written, the 66-year-old is called in for police interrogation. He is then suspected of incitement to ethnic hatred. Men who dress as women are now considered, according to the law, to constitute a separate ethnic group.

Samnytt has spoken to the 66-year-old man from Skellefteå, who wishes to remain anonymous. He explains that with his post about pedophiles who “get to decide”, he was referring to the politicians. To those who govern in society.

– What I thought when I wrote that is that many of those in power today lean a bit in that direction. It’s those who govern, he says.

Are you thinking on a national level or locally?

– No, nationally. I haven’t accused any group. They can dress however they want, but they don’t need to do it in front of children.

So what you wrote is directed at decision-makers? At politicians?

– Exactly!

Denied a public defender

Prior to the police interrogation, the 66-year-old man requests a so-called public defender. This is a lawyer who can help him navigate the legal maze.

The police interrogation is scheduled for a Monday, but the Wednesday before the interrogation, Skellefteå District Court rejects the man’s request. “In this case, there are not sufficient conditions to appoint a public defender”, the court argues in its decision.

The 66-year-old is a low-income earner. And he has little opportunity to pay for a lawyer for several thousand kronor to get legal help.

– I requested one, but I didn’t get one. I would have had to pay for it myself. I think that’s a bit strange, the man tells Samnytt.

When the interrogation takes place, there is no lawyer present to object to the interrogator’s many leading questions.

Convicted of incitement to ethnic hatred

When the main hearing later begins, both the prosecutor and the court rely on the police’s interpretation of the 66-year-old’s post. That he had “linked” the theater company with pedophiles, and that it is them he referred to in his post. The ethnic group transvestites.

– I haven’t accused any group. I just wrote that “this is what happens when hmm gets to decide”. You can’t say that word today, he tells Samnytt.

Do you mean the word “pedophiles”?

– Yes, exactly. You can’t say that word today. I wrote that “this is what happens”, and I was convicted for that. We are not allowed to express anything in society today. That’s how it is.

The verdict was announced on Tuesday this week. The 66-year-old man, who was previously without a criminal record, was sentenced to a suspended sentence and fines for incitement to ethnic hatred.

In total, he is to pay 5,800 SEK to the state for his post.

Not planning to appeal

The 66-year-old from Skellefteå makes no secret of being against drag queen shows for children. An opinion that he believes he has the right to hold.

– I don’t like that they perform scantily clad for young children. Why can’t they be dressed? That’s my personal opinion. Everyone else might think it’s good, but I don’t, he says.

But the convicted man does not plan to appeal the guilty verdict, as he believes it is futile.

– It’s just a matter of paying up and moving on. There’s no point in taking this further, says the 66-year-old thought criminal to Samnytt.

The judges in the incitement to ethnic hatred case were magistrate Jonas Hägerlind and the politically appointed lay judges Rosalie Keller, Annette Burman, and Lars Anders Burman. Samnytt has contacted the magistrate. He has not responded.