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10 Years Ago Anders Breivik Was a Deranged Terrorist, Now His Views Are Mainstream
Neo-Nazi terrorist warned of ‘Great Replacement,’ a phrase adopted by Republicans
Anders Breivik has a background that sounds like a supervillain. His mother, who suffered from severe mental illness, didn’t want him as a child and claimed she felt he was evil because he kicked her when she was pregnant, according to a TV2 report. She tried to abort him but had passed the legal limit where she could have one in Norway.
She frequently abused him when he was growing up, and Breivik inherited her mental illness. That led to an act of mass violence. In 2011, Breivik, a gun enthusiast and military reject, set off bombs and staged a shooting that killed 77 people. But Breivik wasn’t just an ordinary mass murderer. His actions had a political motivation, so that made him a terrorist.
Breivik’s goal was to kick off a war against immigration, particularly Muslim immigration, to Europe. Breivik was immersed in several conspiracy theories from far-right movements which warned against Black and brown people emigrating to Europe. He was QAnon before that mass delusion existed. He believed in the myth of “Eurabia,” the idea that Muslims are trying to reconquer Europe.
