The man has a leadership position in the motorcycle gang Comanches and was invited to Jimmie Åkesson's wedding as a plus one. Åkesson has called it an "honest mistake".
"The short answer is that my wife and I didn't know about these connections", he wrote on X over the weekend.
Jimmie Åkesson writes that he knows the president superficially and that they have met at a few events. According to Aftonbladet, the man was however invited to parties and events with Åkesson since 2016, long before he became the leader of Comanches.
He was at a sour herring party in Åkesson's garden together with about 40 people and appears in pictures from the event, the newspaper writes. He has also been a guest at Åkesson's glitter party in Sölvesborg.
The group leader knew
The group leader Mattias Karlsson, whose ex-wife is with the gang leader, knew about the connections but says he didn't pass on the information.
"I haven't had any communication with Jimmie about his guest list or about the fact that I recently found out that my ex-partner's new partner recently took a leadership position in a highly questionable organization", Karlsson wrote on X.
The press department knew
Expo examined the man's connections to the party in July and then asked questions to the SD's press department. Not even the press department told the party leader about the connection. According to press chief Oscar Cavalli-Björkman, it wasn't "relevant to bring it up to the party's top level".
Richard Jomshof also knew about the connections from media reporting and claims that he reacted to the president being at the wedding.
"I realized, however, that this was something that had gone unnoticed by almost everyone, including the bridal couple", he writes on X.
Tough line
Jomshof, who is also the chairman of the justice committee, is one of the politicians who advocates for the toughest line on criminal policy. He and the SD propose that someone can be classified as a gang criminal without being convicted of a crime.
Among the measures against those who have been labeled as gang criminals, he proposed during a press conference in the spring, together with Jimmie Åkesson, for example, curfews, ankle monitors, withdrawn benefits, and harsher penalties.
TT has sought out Karlsson, Jomshof, and Åkesson. The press chief refers to their social media.
Anna Hansson/TT
Åkesson's wedding – this is what happened
TTTT
Jimmie Åkesson got married to Matilda Kärnerup in Sölvesborg on September 28. Over 500 people were invited to the wedding, which had a festival theme.
The president of the motorcycle gang Comanches attended the wedding. He is married to SD top Mattias Karlsson's ex-wife and was there as her plus one.
Comanches is considered by the police to be a criminal network. It is an organization that is relatively new in Sweden but has been large in Denmark.
The club leader has previously been engaged in the SD. Jimmie Åkesson writes on X that he knows the person superficially and that they have met a few times at different events.
According to Aftonbladet, the president has previously been convicted of traffic offenses and economic crimes and has a past in Bandidos.
