Rightwing nationalist student association members attacked at Radboud University event

Three individuals were arrested on Monday in Nijmegen for their involvement in a brawl at the Radboud University campus. They are suspected of injuring members of the right-nationalist student association GNSV during an introductory market event. Three people suffered minor injuries as a result of the altercation, according to the police), GNSV claimed on X, the platform formerly knows as Twitter, that the injured are their members who were attacked by left-wing extremists. The circumstances leading to the incident are still being investigated by the police.

Around 12:00 pm, the police received a report about the brawl. The cause is still under investigation, said a spokesperson, but it is presumed that a prior conflict led to the incident. The three suspects are currently in custody and are being interrogated. They include a 38-year-old man from Nijmegen and an 18-year-old man from Oegstgeest. The identity of the third suspect is unknown at this time as the individual did not have an identification card with them.

An eyewitness told Vox, the magazine of the university that they saw the members of the student association GNSV attacked at their stand by a group of ten to fifteen people. "I saw punches flying and several people wrestling on the grass. A few moments later, the doorman came running outside to stop the fight; police and security arrived soon after," the person said.

The members of GNSV were taken care of in the Maria Montessori building by university staff. One of them had a black eye, and another person's head was covered in blood, according to the magazine.

GNSV, which stands for "Groot Nederlandse Studentenvereniging" (Greater Netherlands Student Association), was founded in Leiden in 2021 and established a branch in Nijmegen this year. The association claims to adhere to a "conservative-national worldview." They wrote in a post on X that there were “physically attacked” by what they describe as “unstable leftwing extremists.”

Leden van GNSV zijn vanmorgen door een groep extreemlinkse lafaards aangevallen. Het is hoe dan ook onze bedoeling nog altijd op de markt aanwezig te zijn, en op een gezellige manier de nieuwe studenten op de universiteit te leren kennen. https://t.co/HmA6JfYPwA

— Groot-Nederlandse Studentenvereniging - GNSV (@GNSVnationaal) August 21, 2023

Het is alvast een bewogen begin van het academiejaar voor de GNSV; naast stalking, vandalisme en constante oproepen tot geweld is onze vereniging nu ook fysiek door instabiele links-extremisten aangevallen. pic.twitter.com/b5uModXkz6

— Groot-Nederlandse Studentenvereniging - GNSV (@GNSVnationaal) August 21, 2023

Radboud University issued a written statement in response to the incident on Monday. “It is outrageous and sad that exhibitors at the introductory market were confronted with violence today,” said a spokesperson on behalf of the university's executive board. “Violence should never be a solution to disagreements, and certainly not on a day where new students get to know their university and each other.”

The university previously stated that it expected participants of the introduction market “to be respectful of everyone in their expressions.” The university board emphasized that “expressions of sexism, racism, discrimination or (physical) threats are unacceptable to Radboud University.” The reason for this written statement was due to questions on social media about "participating parties at the introductory market." According to regional media, these questions were regarding GNSV's participation.