Amsterdam alderman beat up protecting women on tram

Politician Pieter Hilhorst received a blow to the head on Saturday afternoon when he tried to protect two women from racist remarks, he reports on Twitter.

Hilhorst, a PvdA alderman for Amsterdam, tweeted on January 25: "On tram 7, I protected two women who were being racially insulted. I was punched."

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According to AT5, Hilhorst went further to say: "The two women, I believe of Moroccan origin, came on the tram. A man who also stepped on the tram shouted at them, 'go to your own country, I was born here.' I went to stand in-between them to try to calm the man down."

The man responded by asking the alderman if he was a pastor.

With a few other passengers, Hilhorst was able to get the man off the tram. "I'm happy about that. The rest of the full tram just looked on." A later message on Hilhorst's Twitter page reveals that he went to the police with the two women and made an appointment to make a statement. The police had already received a report on the man who made the racial insults, along with a description.

Hilhorst made headlines last month when the city accidentally paid out nearly €190 million extra in benefits to residents. He became the target by opposition parties looking for someone to blame with PvdA holding a city council majority. Nearly all of the money has since been recovered. Previously, he was a columnist for Volkskrant, and a programmer with broadcaster VARA.

In tram 7 heb ik 2 dames die racistisch werden uitgescholden beschermd. Kreeg knal voor mijn kop. met andere pasagiers vent tram uit gezet.

— Pieter Hilhorst (@Pieterhilhorst) January 25, 2014