The tongue-in-cheek Loldiers of Odin clown group made international headlines last weekend with their humorous response to the growing number of nationalist street patrol groups in Finland known as the Soldiers of Odin.
One week ago in Tampere, Loldiers clowns danced and sang alongside the sombre Soldiers as they moved through the city, and the evening passed without incident.
This Saturday, however, the clowns of Loldiers of Odin took on demonstrators marching in a torch lit “Close the Borders” parade. This time the result was not so funny: two of the clowns were detained by the police.
Tampere Police say they detained two people dressed as clowns for disorderly conduct during the parade. They say the Loldiers of Odin members tried to disrupt the otherwise peaceful “Close the Borders” procession that had been cleared with the officials ahead of time and therefore had the right to assemble.
The march travelled a short distance down Tampere’s main street, Hämeenkatu, after which the anti-immigration protesters gathered in the city’s central square.