Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen has spoken out against sexual harassment in the Armed Forces. According to several independent sources, he himself is alleged to have assaulted a female recruit and torn open her blouse in front of approximately 140 people at the Non-Commissioned Officers School (Befalsskolen). Riis-Gjertsen calls the entire matter a “fictitious story”.

In 2022, Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen, who goes by the name ikke_stresse and has more than 60,000 followers on Instagram, appeared in the media calling for the Armed Forces to address sexual harassment.

In his contribution to TV 2, he criticised the Armed Forces for not having zero tolerance for sexual harassment while cracking down on substance abuse:

“What about zero tolerance for unlawful violence? What about zero tolerance for abuse? What about zero tolerance for sexual harassment? Do you stand by this as well?”

“Would you rather stand beside the man who got into a fight with a fellow soldier the previous weekend than beside the man who took cocaine at a party with friends?”

But now several sources with whom Document has spoken are describing what happened on the evening of 27 September 2013.

According to them, Riis-Gjertsen went after a female recruit, threw her against a wall, held her fast, and tore her blouse apart. Her breast and bra were exposed in front of those present, Nora and several witnesses say. Several former recruits state that others intervened to stop him.

– He turns up everywhere on social media and is supposed to be women’s great hero. But he is one of the very few people I would never, ever be alone in a room with, says “Nora” to Document.

– Fictitious stories

Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen believes that all allegations regarding his conduct at the Non-Commissioned Officers School are “completely incorrect” and have “no basis in actual events”. He writes this in an e-mail sent through his manager, Petter Vistung of Wibes Management. You can read his full response further down in the article.

Recently, Riis-Gjertsen has made himself conspicuous by stating that he wants to expose people whose views he dislikes, particularly what he refers to as “racism, sexism, transphobia and fatphobia”. Shortly afterwards, several messages from Riis-Gjertsen himself surfaced, for which he was forced to apologise.

– I hate to say it, but it takes a white, heterosexual, empathetic man to show how to treat other people. What the guys in the comments section look up to, I already have. They have nothing on me, he told VG on 29 May.

A few days ago, Riis-Gjertsen again appeared publicly, this time to announce that he intends to stop exposing people. Nevertheless, he still encourages others to use his methods. In the podcast Ekstra Lars with Aftenposten, he said the following:

– I hope I inspire people to stand up against bullying. When you see comments like that, I expect people to start responding. Perhaps in the way I have responded. Really sarcastically. If someone fat-shames in the comments section, then really go hard at them. Go after their family and say: Your mum is doing a really terrible job. Be as nasty as you possibly can.

Nora has asked to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisals. Document knows her identity and has verified all the information she presents against other sources.

In total, Document has interviewed seven independent sources who have had close social contact with Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen and who, through written documentation, photographs, calendar entries, and other documentation, have verified the information presented in this article.

It all begins at the Non-Commissioned Officers School. On his own profiles he describes himself as a “lawyer with leadership experience from the Armed Forces”, and according to himself he has six years of leadership experience in the Army.

But it is more than merely a success story.

Claims he destroyed the blouse

It all began with messages and flirtation from Riis-Gjertsen towards Nora. But she was not interested.

– I remember several of my friends thought it was brutal how dismissive I was. Then came the celebration marking the completion of recruit training. We went out to the venue in Rena. Everyone had dressed up, and the entire Non-Commissioned Officers School was there, around 140 people. All evening he kept groping me, pulling me down and touching me, well, below the belt, shall we say, the woman tells Document.

– Are you certain that you rejected him clearly and unequivocally?

– Yes. I said: “Don’t do that.” Stop! But it just escalated. He followed me around.

It was the woman on the right who says that her blouse was destroyed and that the evening was ruined for her. Photo: Private

She was standing at the bar in Rena about to buy a drink, and she says that he took a bar stool, came right up to her, and continued touching her.

– Then I said: STOP! Don’t touch me! That was when he snapped. His eyes went completely dark, she says.

That was when she was thrown into the wall and held by the wrists, she explains. She emphasises throughout that Riis-Gjertsen is physically very tall and large.

– He growled into my throat, grabbed my blouse and tore it open.

– Everyone saw my breast. So I just stood there. I have always been told in the Armed Forces that I am the type who would be a “fighter” in such a situation, but I completely froze. He was massive and large and stood there growling, she explains.

Confrontation

Several people felt compelled to intervene, and several sources with whom Document has spoken claim that it took several men to pull Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen away from Nora. One person in his platoon confronted him during the incident, and it reportedly ended in a confrontation outside the venue.

– He would not allow himself to be controlled. They reacted to that. My evening was over because the blouse was ruined, Nora explains.

But the nightmare did not end there. The following day, 28 September 2013, Nora was sitting with others in the dining hall.

She claims that Riis-Gjertsen suddenly came up behind her, grabbed her firmly by the neck and said: “You do not tell anyone about what happened yesterday.” Then he shook her by the neck, in front of everyone, loudly enough for everyone around to hear.

The woman did not want to create a commotion about the matter while she was still at the Non-Commissioned Officers School, and all of this happened several years before sexual harassment became the subject of wider public debate.

– Even though my closest friends were standing there, most people said that “Jørgen is crazy”, but that he ought to buy you a new blouse. That is not what I react to. What I react to more is his incredible rage. Several of my friends have said afterwards that they reacted entirely the wrong way, she says.

This is confirmed by others in the circle of friends.

– We should have dealt with it in a completely different way. But it is entirely consistent with how Jørgen behaves, says a male source who was present.

It was originally a pleasant evening for the woman as she celebrated completing recruit training. But the evening took an abrupt turn. Photo: Private

At the same time, Nora emphasises that she has moved on and is not seeking to present herself as a victim. What she does react strongly to, however, is the way Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen presents himself on social media.

– He has spent his whole life doing awful things to people and never suffered any consequences for it. One thing is me. But there are many others, she says.

Several of the sources with whom Document has spoken independently tell the same story. They state that Riis-Gjertsen behaved badly towards both men and women.

– After this incident, I had to tell all my friends that if he was invited somewhere, I would have to decline. I could not risk ending up alone with him, Nora tells Document.

She had no problem with others maintaining friendships with Riis-Gjertsen, but asked them not to mention him or talk about him.

– After a while, none of them maintained the friendship, says another source.

Riis-Gjertsen criticises the Armed Forces

Nora says that she has had a heavy knot in her stomach recently after seeing Riis-Gjertsen’s face appear “everywhere”.

– You are an influencer and you say you fight for women’s rights. If I were him, and had a little social awareness, I would think: If there is any chance in the world that someone gets a pain in their stomach from hearing my name, then I would want to put things right. Make contact and make amends. But he has never, ever done that, she says.

Several of the former friends from the Non-Commissioned Officers School have reacted in the same way. Document has spoken to seven sources about the matter. Four of them were present that evening in September 2013, while the others know of the incident and describe a pattern in Riis-Gjertsen’s behaviour.

– It was not just “Nora”. It was consistent behaviour towards other people. That was what ultimately made me break off contact, says another man who also attended the Non-Commissioned Officers School with Riis-Gjertsen.

What really took the biscuit for him was when Riis-Gjertsen publicly criticised the Armed Forces for not being tough enough on sexual harassment.

– To go out and criticise that while you yourself have not made amends for such a matter. To me that is quite astonishing, he says.

– Why did this not lead to any consequences for Riis-Gjertsen, and why was the matter not reported?

– You have to remember that this was in 2013. That is a long time ago now. It was a completely different culture, explains “Nora”.

She confirms that she did not report the matter.

– Good reason not to report

A current officer in the Armed Forces, who also attended the same class at the Non-Commissioned Officers School, says that there has been major development within the Armed Forces and that she herself experienced many things which, in retrospect, would have been grounds for reporting.

– There is a very clear reason why it was not reported. Call it weaknesses, signs that you were damaged, or that you were not learning things quickly enough. If you started complaining in the middle of it all, it only resulted in the entire environment turning against you, she says.

She points out that things have become much better in the Armed Forces, and that an environment consisting exclusively of boys is something entirely different once women enter it.

– When you are only among boys, you do not report things, because then you have no friends. We experienced a lot of strange things, whether it was fellow soldiers climbing naked into your bed or waking you up naked. A great deal has changed, she says.

None of those with whom Document has spoken wished to be identified by name due to fear of reprisals. We have verified their claims against other sources.

Document sent an e-mail to Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen’s manager, Petter Vistung, at 15:20 on Tuesday 2 June, with a deadline for response of 12:00 on Wednesday 3 June. This was because Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen had indicated that enquiries should be directed to his manager.

A little over an hour later, an e-mail arrived from the manager.

“The allegations to which you refer are completely incorrect and have no basis in actual events. Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen has never been involved in a fight, nor has he ever used physical violence against a woman.”

He then refers us to platoon commander Lars Olsson from the period when Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen attended the Non-Commissioned Officers School. Olsson was not present at the venue that evening.

At the end of the e-mail it states:

“We are in dialogue with the police and will report those responsible for these false accusations. Should incorrect allegations be published, we will consider both criminal and civil measures to safeguard Jørgen’s rights and reputation.”

During Tuesday evening, Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen posted a video on Instagram in which he said, among other things:

“I am going to pursue this matter both criminally and civilly. And that also applies to those who may submit such fictitious stories to Document.”

Document followed up by sending another e-mail in order to have Riis-Gjertsen clarify what he claims is “fictitious” and what is not.

In the e-mail we asked several specific questions: whether he disputes that he had contact with the woman, that he was present at the venue, that he touched her, that he tore her blouse apart, and whether she asked him to stop.

In a reply shortly afterwards, manager Petter Vistung wrote:

“We will not comment on questions relating to a fictitious story” – followed by a request to contact the military police and the then platoon commander.

Here are the e-mails that were exchanged:

Shortly after the e-mails were exchanged, Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen filed a police report for harassment against Document’s journalist. He confirmed this himself on his own Instagram profile.

Platoon commander: – No knowledge

Former platoon commander Lars Olsson tells Document that he has no knowledge of this matter, while at the same time emphasising that he was not present.

– It was 13 years ago, and I was Riis-Gjertsen’s platoon commander. I do not recall this being an issue. It is of course regrettable if it is true and that it did not come to the attention of the platoon commander. Because if this had happened, it would have resulted in expulsion from the Non-Commissioned Officers School.

– If it had been reported to you, would you have remembered the case?

– Yes. Such a case would have been dealt with by the company commander and brought before the school council. Riis-Gjertsen was not involved in any school council proceedings.

The school council is an internal body that provides recommendations to the school commander concerning, among other things, disciplinary matters.

– I remember him as a solid individual. He was physically robust, performed well at school, and was generally a good officer cadet. It was an excellent platoon, says Olsson.

Another student at the school says that he likewise cannot remember the incident and states that he was a good friend of Riis-Gjertsen and that they enjoyed many good times together.

– We were very good friends, and he was very outgoing. We did a lot of social things together. It has been many years since we were in contact, but we had a great time, says the male student from the school.