Anders Behring Breivik

Anders Behring Breivik (born February 13, 1979) is a Norwegian citizen and the self-admitted^[ perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks. Police believe he acted alone but have not ruled out the possibility of an accomplice.His anti-multiculturalist and right-wing militantideologies were exposed in an online 1516-page manifesto published the day of the attacks.^[

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Attacks

On 22 July 2011, Breivik allegedly approached a Labour Party youth camp on Utøya island, posing as a police officer, and then opened fire on the adolescents present, reportedly killing at least 92. He has also been linked with the bomb blasts which had taken place approximately two hours earlier in Oslo. He was arrested on Utøya, and is currently in police custody. Following his apprehension, Breivik was characterized by officials as being a right-wing extremist.

According to Reuters and the BBC, deputy police chief Roger Andresen described Breivik as a "Christian fundamentalist",  He was reportedly a former member of the conservative Progress Party.  According to the newspaperVerdens Gang, he has no previous history with the police, apart from traffic violations. According to the same source, Breivik has a Glock pistol, a rifle and a shotgun registered to his name. Breivik moved in late June or early July to the rural small town of Rena in Åmot, Hedmarkcounty, about 140 km (86 miles) northeast of Oslo, where he operated a farming sole proprietorship under the name "Breivik Geofarm" According to Reuters, a farming supplier had sold to Breivik's company six tonnes of fertilizer in May.^[ Fertilizer can be used to producefertilizer explosives, although fertilizer explosives were not reported to have been used in the attacks. 

Beliefs

Politics

In his manifesto, Breivik describes himself as an economically liberal, revolutionary cultural conservative  He is also a former member of the Progress Party (FrP) and its youth wing FpU. According to the current FpU leader Ove Vanebo, Breivik was active early in the 2000s, but he left the party in 2007 as his viewpoints became more extreme 

Breivik has also been linked to the online persona "Fjordman", who has penned numerous online sites such as Gates of Vienna and Atlas Shrugs. In these writings, Fjordman develops a radically pro-Israeli and anti-Muslim worldview 

Interests

Breivik described himself as being interested in hunting and computer games, including World of Warcraft and Modern Warfare 2. 

Influences

Breivik identified himself in a multitude of social media services as an admirer of, among others, Winston Churchill, Max Manus,  and Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose political party he described as "the only true party for conservatives"  On Twitter he paraphrased philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests".^[a][9][24] Breivik listed as one of his interests freemasonry, he was a Freemason  a member of St. John's Lodge in Oslo. 

Ideas

Breivik is reported to have written many posts on the website document.no,  described by Aftenposten as "Islam-critical and Israel-friendly"  He also attended meetings of "Documents venner" (Friends of Document), affiliated with the website.  Dagens Næringslivwrites that Breivik sought to start a Norwegian version of the Tea Party movement in cooperation with the owners of document.no, but that they, after expressing initial interest, ultimately turned down his proposal because he did not have the contacts he promised. Due to the media attention on his Internet activity following the 2011 attacks, document.no compiled a complete list of comments made by Breivik on its website between September 2009 and June 2010. 

Breivik penned a 1,500-page manifesto titled 2083 — A European Declaration of Independence, under the pseudonym "Andrew Berwick", published in 2011. In the document he describes his background and discusses his political viewpoints.  "Berwick" details his preparation for the attacks including but not limited to; the preparation of ANFO, methods of acquisition of chemical precursors, and his mental state in the days leading up to the attacks. In the preface he says he devoted nine years of his life to writing the book, working full time during the last three. 

Six hours before the attacks, Breivik posted a YouTube video urging conservatives to "embrace martyrdom" and showing himself wearing a wetsuit and pointing a Ruger Mini 14. 

Religious

Breivik wrote that it was essential to "fight" for a "Judeo-Christian Europe", praised the rejection of "anti-Jewish views" and stated that "the new Conservatist ‘new right’ is rapidly developing into a pro-Israel, anti-Jihad alliance." He applauds Israel, and considers Israel to be a victim of alleged "cultural Marxists" who "see Israel as a 'racist' state". 

Hours before the shootings occurred, Breivik released an anti-Muslim video detailing that many Christian groups desired a violent staged revolution in Europe to kill the "cultural Marxists" who were, as he saw it, working to weaken Christendom and the "cultural purity" of Europe. He advocated the organization called the "Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon." His video urged Christian Europeans to be “justiciar knights,” and rely on the virtues of the crusaders and other Christians in Europe who had battled Muslims in the name of Christianity. 

Personal life

Breivik grew up in the affluent west-end of Oslo, son of Jens Breivik, a Siviløkonom (Norwegian professional title, literally "civil economist"), and Wenche Behring, a nurse. He has two half-brothers and two half-sisters. His parents divorced when he was one year old and he lived with his mother and half-sister  He attended Smestad Grammar School, Ris Junior High, Hartvig Nissen High School and Oslo Commerce School. He took online study courses on Small Business Management at American InterContinental University A former classmate has recalled that he was an intelligent student who often took care of people who were bullied ^] A former co-worker has described him as an "exceptional colleague" without racist tendencies.^[  Breivik was a freemason. After the attacks, his lodge claimed he had only minimal contact with the lodge, and suspended his membershi  Breivik completed his service in the Norwegian Army,^[44] and studied at the BI Norwegian School of Management. 

In late June or early July 2011, Breivik moved to the small rural town of Rena in Åmot, Hedmark county, about 140 km (86 miles) northeast of Oslo  where he operated a farming sole proprietorship under the name "Breivik Geofarm".  There is speculation that he could have used the company as a cover to legally obtain large amounts of artificial fertilizer and other chemicals for the manufacturing of fertilizer explosives.^[9] A farming supplier sold Breivik's company six tonnes of fertilizer in May.  In his manifesto he details how he used the company as a façade to acquire the chemicals without raising suspicion.