Far-right Finns Party drops MP from group over Helsinki nightclub shooting arrest

Euronews
·2 min read
Far-right Finns Party drops MP from group over Helsinki nightclub shooting arrest

Finns Party leadership has unanimously decided to boot MP Timo Vornanen out of the party's parliamentary group after he was arrested for his suspected involvement in a shooting incident outside a Helsinki karaoke bar last Friday morning.

“For my part, I can say that if an MP of the Finns Party moves around intoxicated with a gun in Helsinki … and fires the gun, then there is [a] lack of confidence,” Finns Party leader Riikka Purra said Thursday afternoon at a press conference announcing the decision.

"Trust is essential in politics, and you either have it or you don't. This is how we have come to this decision," far-right party's parliamentary group chairman Jani Mäkelä added.

The suspected shooting incident began around 4 am local time at the Ihku nightclub in downtown Helsinki, according to the police.

The incident occurred as Vornanen and another group of people got into an argument which culminated in Vornanen producing a handgun, pointing at those present, and firing a shot into the ground.

The authorities have stated they have security footage of the incident. Vornanen is currently under investigation for gun violation, illegally threatening another person, and attempted aggravated assault.

Vornanen has argued that his role as a police officer for more than two decades before being elected into parliament in 2023 allowed him to carry a weapon in public places.

In reaction to his parliamentary group ousting, Vornanen said he would create his own group and "continue as an MP".

"In the absence of a court decision, I consider that there is no legal basis for my resignation or removal from parliament," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Vornanen is a first-term MP in the 200-seat parliament, coming from the eastern Finnish city of Joensuu.

Finns Party, which won around 20% of the vote in the 2023 parliamentary election, is part of the governing coalition together with the National Coalition Party (or Kok), the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People's Party of Finland.