A man described as a Swedish defence and national security adviser appeared on Fox News last week to defend President Donald Trump’s claim that criminal immigrants are wreaking havoc in Sweden. But according to court records and Swedish officials, the man, identified as Nils Bildt, has a criminal record in the U.S. and no ties to Sweden’s security establishment.
In fact, he may not even be named Nils Bildt.
“We don’t know this guy,” said Mikael Abramsson, a spokesman for the Swedish military. “We have never heard of him in the Swedish armed forces, and he cannot speak on our behalf.”
That sentiment was echoed by Rasmus Eljanskog, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who said no one by the name of Nils Bildt worked there. Magnus Ranstorp, the head of terrorism research at the Swedish Defense University in Stockholm, went one step further. “There isn’t any Nils Bildt,” he said.
According to public records, Mr. Bildt was born Nils Tolling, the son of the chairman of the Swedish Equestrian Federation, and went by that name as recently as May, when he registered a business, Modus World West, in Montana.
Mr. Bildt’s time in the spotlight began on Thursday, when he appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” to argue that immigrants were the cause of a violent crime wave in Sweden.
Crime factor
Nils Bildt may not be a Swedish defence and national security adviser, but crime is a topic he may know a thing or two about.
Prosecutors in Virginia charged him in 2014 with public drunkenness and obstruction of justice, both misdemeanors, as well as one felony count of assaulting a police officer, according to court records. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault in November 2014 and sentenced to 12 months in prison, although his sentence was partly suspended.
David Tabacoff, the executive producer of “The O’Reilly Factor,” defended the decision to invite Mr. Bildt on the show. “Our booker made numerous inquiries and spoke to people who recommended Nils Bildt,” he said in a statement, “and after pre-interviewing him and reviewing his bio, we agreed that he would make a good guest for the topic that evening.”
Another Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, reported that Bildt told the paper he was “unaware” of the charges. He also said the title “Swedish defense and national security adviser” was made up by a Fox News editor. “I had no personal control over what title they chose,” he wrote. “I am an independent analyst based in the U.S.A.” NYT
