Police raid Amsterdam comedian Hans Teeuwen's home hours after parody of city's mayor
Six police officers raided the Amsterdam home of absurdist comedian Hans Teeuwen on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after he published a video on social media where an object with the appearance of a firearm can be seen on a table next to him. Dressed in a thick, black wig, Teeuwen parodied Mayor Femke Halsema's defense of free speech and the right to demonstrate during the pro-Palestinian protest near the opening of the National Holocaust Museum on Sunday.
The famous comedian and actor said that the police were there to take away his "prop gun" in a second video during the police intervention. Though Teeuwen did not directly state why he included the gun in the video, it was likely a jab at when Halsema's teenaged son was arrested in possession of a deactivated firearm while causing a disturbance on an abandoned houseboat.
Gritting his teeth, Teeuwen jokingly impersonated Halsema, saying, "In a city like Amsterdam, where people still feel the pain of the colonial history and slavery every day, it is incredibly important that people keep seeking to maintain connections, and hold on to each other." He went on to say that sometimes this leads to groups getting a "collective inferiority complex, and being provoked by another, smaller, minority that is more successful than the posturing from that bigger, frustrated group, that is more important at a specific time than the smaller, more successful minority," he rambled in the somewhat frenetic style that made him famous.
"In other words, it is unavoidable that eggs, and Jewish hearts, are broken when making a beautiful and diverse omelette."
Police arrive at Teeuwen's door to seize his "prop" gun
Teeuwen posted the video on his Facebook and Instagram pages just after noon on Tuesday. A second video posted three hours later by the comedian showed him answering his front door as six police officers stood outside his home. Teeuwen made it clear that the police were at the professional performer and producer's home because of "a prop." Teeuwen allowed them into the home without trouble.
When he asked why the officers were at his home, one said that it was in connection with the law governing firearms in the Netherlands and what "someone saw in the short video." Dutch law closely restricts ownership of objects which have a close similarity to actual firearms. A police spokesperson confirmed to NOS that a concerned individual contacted them after they spotted the gun.
That sent Teeuwen back into his Halsema impersonation for another moment. He gritted his teeth, and sarcastically praised the "unbelievably good" response by the police to ensure "that the citizens of Amsterdam remain safe." He then briefly sat at his piano and played a jaunty cabaret tune, singing, "Come to the police..." Teeuwen then stuck his hands out as if offering to be cuffed as a police officer explained that the prop was being seized, and that he may receive a summons as a criminal suspect ordering him to visit a police station for interrogation.
Comedian makes fun of the police on their way out
The police officers declined to take him into custody. Teeuwen asked, "Are you not ashamed a bit for this lame moment?" As he counted the six police officers walking down the street, he shouted towards them, "I love you people!"
It was not immediately clear if Halsema was informed ahead of time about the arrest. She did respond to the initial parody, writing in a comment on Instagram, "My hair -usually- looks better."
Some of those who watched both videos noted the irony of Amsterdam police raiding a comedian's home over a parody a day after the mayor gave a full-throated defense of free speech. The fact that the gun is a prop in a comedian's performance is irrelevant, the police spokesperson said. "We always take it very seriously when we receive such a report. We want fake firearms and real firearms off the street. You can't tell the difference."
The spokesperson added that a tactical arrest team is often dispatched to handle the situation when a gun is spotted. Sending six police officers knocking at the door instead of kicking it down is actually a "scaled down" response, the argued.
Halsema's defense of free speech in Amsterdam
Roughly a thousand people protested in a manner which could be heard by guests at the museum opening, where Israeli President Isaac Herzog joined King Willem-Alexander, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Mayor Halsema. Thirteen people were arrested for public disorder and accusations of violence during the protest. Far-right PVV leader Geert Wilders spread a conspiracy theory on X soon after, saying it the protest seemed like "a political action by the extreme left-wing mayor of Amsterdam." His remarks were denounced by many, including Rutte, who, like Wilders, has supported Israel since the country was invaded by Hamas in October.
“The right to demonstrate is part of a free and democratic society,” Halsema said of the protest on Monday, where demonstrators chanted the controversial statement, "From the river to the sea," interpreted by some as calling for a single-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict by forcing out all Jews and other Israelis. “It gives a voice to everyone who disagrees with something. That does not detract from the lasting value of the Holocaust Museum in our city.”
Halsema's son was arrested in August 2019 on suspicion of armed burglary, and was alleged to have thrown a fake gun over the side of a houseboat when police responded to the incident. Halsema was accused of trying to cover up the incident. The boy's father, filmmaker Robert Oey, had borrowed the item for a production and left it at the mayor's official residence. He was later convicted for possessing the weapon and sentenced to community service. Halsema and Oey split up not long after.
