
Video: Clashes with police at farmers rally in Almelo; Covid deniers join protest
Almelo Mayor Arjen Gerritsen issued an emergency order for the center of the city and the immediate vicinity on Monday afternoon when a group of people began to disrupt the public order, according to the municipality. This happened around the same time as a demonstration was held by farmers at the town hall.
๐ณ๐ฑ Almelo City Hall - Undercover Police make arrest pic.twitter.com/73e1Szvd4s
โ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐๐ท๐ด ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฝ๐ด (@72powpow) August 1, 2022
A video posted on Twitter showed a group clashing with the police. A few people with handkerchiefs can be seen, a frequent symbol of those protesting against the Cabinetโs environment policy with the farmers, but it is not clear who those people are and whether they are actually farmers.
Photos from the demonstration also showed Virus Waarheid leader Willem Engel present. He was among the countryโs most vocal opponentโs to the government's coronavirus policy in recent years. The dance instructor frequently speaks out against the need for vaccination and claims the health impact of infection is less serious than medical experts have shown.
Local media previously reported that most of the protesters left when the municipality ordered the farmers' demonstration to end between noon and 12:30 p.m. Nevertheless, a group mainly consisting of โciviliansโ remained behind, according to De Stentor.
Mayor Gerritsen had decided on Sunday evening that the demonstration against the Cabinet's nitrogen policy could continue under certain conditions on Monday morning. A maximum of 500 people and two agricultural vehicles were allowed to be present at the town hall in Almelo.
The rally, in which the Dutch dish hutspot was served, was allowed to take place between 10:00 a.m. and noon on a strip on the North Harbor side. An inverted Dutch flag was painted on that quay wall with the text โno farmer no food.โ
Reporting by ANP