Utrecht candidate councilor suspected of ATM bombing

A candidate city councilor for party Stadsbelang Utrecht is currently in custody on suspicion of involvement in a failed ATM bombing in Druten in Gelderland. The candidate in question is 30-year-old Steven K., party leader Cees Bos confirmed to newspaper AD.

K. was arrested with two other Utrecht residents in Druten on February 24th. The other two Utrecht residents were caught in the act of breaking an Albert Heijn window. Police officers arrested them before they could blow open an ING ATM inside the supermarket. They had tools and explosives with them. K. was arrested a short time later - he was found sleeping in a van a little way up the street. He was recently remanded to another 90 days in custody.

Bos had contact with K. - who is 10th on Stadsbelang Utrecht's list of candidates for the municipal elections on Wednesday - last week. K. told him that he will relinquish his council seat in the event that he is elected. He was also on the party's candidates list four years ago, and got 119 votes.

This is also not the first time K. is in contact with the law, according to AD. In 2014 he had to appear in court on charges of assault.

Stadsbelang Utrecht leader Bos feels helpless, he said to the newspaper. "It is terrible news and it is a serious suspicion. But it is also a suspicion and he has not been convicted yet." He tried to protect K.'s identity over the past days. "But it is also clear that it should be known who it is. His name has been in the rumor circuit for days. From the interest of the party, I am glad that it is now out. For us the book is now closed. We want to move forward."

The election list for Wednesday can no longer be modified. This means that voters can still vote for K.