Man arrested after attempting to steal Kim Friele memorial stone from Bergen’s Walk of Fame

A man in his 60s was detained early Wednesday after being caught trying to remove the memorial stone dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights activist Kim Friele from Bergen’s Walk of Fame, Dagbladet reports.

Police responded to a report of a disturbance in Nøstegaten at 4:13 a.m., where witnesses said they had seen a man damaging or attempting to remove a stone from the pavement. A scuffle broke out when the witnesses tried to intervene. Officers confirmed they had secured all parties involved.

During a search of the suspect’s home, police recovered 14 additional stones taken from the same location. The man claimed his attempt to take Friele’s stone was random, telling investigators his motive was “to spark debate about how easy they are to steal,” according to operations manager Steinar Hausvik of Vest Police District.

The incident follows a series of recent thefts and vandalism targeting other memorial stones along the Walk of Fame, including those honoring industrialist Trond Mohn, comedian Peter Frølich, and actor Helge Jordal.