Brick thrown through court reporter's kitchen window

By Janene Pieters on September 13, 2019 - 13:20
Journalist
Journalist. (Photo: AllaSerebrina/DepositPhotos)

Court reporter Chris Klomp was threatened on Thursday night. A brick was thrown through his kitchen window, and a threatening note was stuck to his door. The note instructed Klomp to delete his social media accounts, "or we'll be back", according to photos he posted on Twitter.

"We were just in bed, and then everything downstairs suddenly lies in ruins. That does scare you", the reporter, who writes for newspaper AD and others, said to NOS. 

He reported the incident to the police, but isn't too worried. Klomp is very active on social media and does not hide his opinions, which means he regularly has problems with internet trolls and supporters of the alt-right movement. "I often get annoying messages", the journalist said to NOS. "A while back I wrote a story about pedophilia. Then people especially on Facebook responded in the vein of: we're going to kill you."

He called the most recent threat "cowardly", saying that the perpetrator threw a brick because they apparently did not dare ring the doorbell. He also doesn't intend to remove his social media presence. "I am a freelance journalist and social media is part of my job. No, I'm not going to stop. Then you give them what they want."

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