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| Finnish Protester Who Wore Klan-Style Robe Is Arrested | Finnish Protester Who Wore Klan-Style Robe Is Arrested |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| HELSINKI, Finland — A man who dressed up in a Ku Klux Klan-style robe during an anti-immigrant demonstration on Thursday in southern Finland — an image that drew outrage across the country after it was widely circulated online — has been arrested, according to the authorities. | HELSINKI, Finland — A man who dressed up in a Ku Klux Klan-style robe during an anti-immigrant demonstration on Thursday in southern Finland — an image that drew outrage across the country after it was widely circulated online — has been arrested, according to the authorities. |
| The man, 19, was identified after the protest because he had bought the sheet, cardboard and tape from a local store, a police official said in a phone interview. | The man, 19, was identified after the protest because he had bought the sheet, cardboard and tape from a local store, a police official said in a phone interview. |
| “He was wearing a white robe and a cardboard hat, and had a megaphone in his hand,” said the official, Detective Chief Inspector Martti Hirvonen of the Hame Police Department, which covers an area near Lahti, the southern city where the protest occurred. “Now we are investigating what he said — if he said something which can be understood as racist and inciting hatred against certain ethnic groups.” | |
| The suspect will be charged with desecrating the Finnish flag he was carrying, which is punishable by a fine, Chief Inspector Hirvonen said. The man is also being investigated for inciting people to disturb public order, an offense punishable by up to two years in prison. | |
| The arrest was first reported by the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat on Tuesday. | The arrest was first reported by the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat on Tuesday. |
| The protest involved only about 40 people, but it attracted widespread attention and condemnation. Several protesters — though not the 19-year-old, the police said — threw stones and fireworks at a bus full of asylum-seekers. The police said that the protest appeared to be an isolated episode, but that they were investigating to make sure there was no hate group behind it. | The protest involved only about 40 people, but it attracted widespread attention and condemnation. Several protesters — though not the 19-year-old, the police said — threw stones and fireworks at a bus full of asylum-seekers. The police said that the protest appeared to be an isolated episode, but that they were investigating to make sure there was no hate group behind it. |
| Finland, with a population of about 5.5 million, expects to take in up to 50,000 migrants this year from war-torn countries like Iraq and Somalia. | |
| The protest in Lahti drew strong condemnation from Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who has offered to shelter migrants in his home. | The protest in Lahti drew strong condemnation from Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who has offered to shelter migrants in his home. |