Health service workers threatened by conspiracy theorists

Employees of health service GGD are being threatened by conspiracy theorists in the Telegram group De Bataafse Republiek, according to umbrella organization GGD GHOR Nederland. The threats were reported to the police, Nicolette Rigter of the GGD said to NU.nl.

Members of the Telegram group shared the names of GGD employees involved in the Covid-19 vaccination campaign with calls to "clean these killers off the street", "hunt" and "destroy everything". 

The GGD takes these threats seriously,  Rigter said. "The safety of our employees should not be compromised in any way. Our people have been committed to fighting the coronavirus for months. They deserve respect and appreciation instead of being threatened and intimidated by conspiracy theorists."

The Telegram chat group in question has about 7 thousand members. It was set up by the Red Pill Journal, a platform for Micha Kat, Wouter Raatgever and Joost Knevel. Most of their conspiracy theories revolve around pedophile networks, according to the newspaper.

Last week Raatgever was sentenced to nine months in prison, three of which conditionally suspended, for making threatening videos aimed at RIVM director Jaap van Dissel, among others.