While the party was accused by some of being "neo-Nazi" and "racist", many of its members where in fact former members of the Norwegian resistance movement during the Second World War. They included Erik Gjems-Onstad who was part of "Kompani Linge", and Oslo candidates Jan Høeg who was part of Milorg and Arvid Austad who participated in the execution squads against convicted Nazi traitors (including Vidkun Quisling) in the legal purge after the war. Austad expanded on his position in 1999, by stating that he saw "clear parallels" between the Nazi invasion of Norway and "today's great immigration of Muslims."