A municipal councilor for the Left Party in Gävle is being prosecuted after removing Sweden Democrats’ election materials from two locked mailboxes at a group home. The incident, which was captured on surveillance footage, occurred during the party’s election campaign in April. 

The prosecutor has brought charges against the Left Party’s municipal council member Jan-Olov Andersson following his actions at a social psychiatric residence on Nygatan in Gävle on April 28, where he sabotaged for the opposition Sweden Democrats.

According to the indictment, he unlawfully took mail from two locked mailboxes at the residence. He is charged primarily with unlawful intrusion and, secondarily, with unlawful appropriation. Andersson has admitted to the actions but contests the graver criminal classification.

Caught on Surveillance Camera

The incident occurred while four Left Party representatives were distributing election materials and canvassing. According to the police investigation, Jan-Olov Andersson remained in the entrance while the others went upstairs in the building.

READ ALSO: Here are the Left Party members who hate Jews and praise terror groups

Surveillance footage shows him first taking an SD (Sweden Democrats) brochure from one mailbox and then taking another brochure from a different mailbox. He then placed both brochures in his own folder he had brought with him.

The police film review shows that Andersson removed materials from the two mailboxes. The film also shows him displaying the first brochure to a party colleague before putting it in his folder. This happened without objection from the colleague.

Admits to Taking the Material

During police interrogation, Andersson admits he took SD’s election newspaper but claims he did it out of curiosity.

– I saw that it was from the Sweden Democrats and got curious about what they wrote in their brochures that they distributed, so that’s why I took it, he said in questioning.

READ ALSO: The Left also wants forced mixing: “Those who live in villas should adapt”

At the same time, he claims he did not realize that taking mail from others’ mailboxes could be a crime.

– I had no thought that what I did would be criminal, and I had no intention of harming anyone or sabotaging anything. I just wanted to see what SD had written.

Claims Memory Loss

When shown the surveillance film during questioning and asked why he took two brochures from two different mailboxes if it was just curiosity, he is caught off guard.

– But I took another one; why do I only have one then? Very strange. I can’t answer why I took two. I don’t even remember it, but apparently, I did.

Andersson denies the charge of unlawful intrusion but admits to unlawful appropriation and has stated that he is willing to accept a summary penalty for the latter offense.

Colleague Testified: “No Intention to Target SD”

Party colleague Marita Johansson, who participated in the distribution and was present throughout the incident, said in questioning that Andersson had other and legitimate reasons for taking the Sweden Democrats’ campaign materials from the mailboxes. She said that newspapers were sticking out of mailboxes that seemed full, and the materials risked falling out.

She also speculated that Andersson might bring the SD materials to his students, since they were studying election issues in school.

– He said something about that whatever was left over he could take to the students since they are working on the election in school.

The colleague also stressed that there was absolutely no intention to specifically target Sweden Democrat materials.

– No, no, no, that’s not the case, and there’s no purpose in it being theirs specifically.

Two Apartments

The investigation reveals that the relevant mailboxes belonged to two apartments that were not rented out at the time of the incident, which Andersson did not know. Therefore, Gävle municipality, via the social psychiatry service that rents the apartments, is considered the injured party in the case.

READ ALSO: Left Party’s Pride Celebration: “All of Malmö hates the police”

The police also determined that the mailboxes were locked and that Andersson used a pen to pry out at least one of the brochures. He should have realized that this was not allowed.

Consequences for the Left Party

When the incident became public, the housing company Gavlegårdarna decided to deactivate the key fobs the party had borrowed to gain access to stairwells during the election campaign. Thereby, the Left Party lost the opportunity to continue distributing campaign materials in the buildings’ entrances.

It remains unclear, at the time of writing, whether the incident will result in any disciplinary measures against Andersson from the party. The case will be tried at Gävle District Court. The prosecutor has estimated the main hearing should take no more than around 40 minutes.