Presenter accused of instructing Amelanders to attack reporters covering Sunneklaas fest

The Noord-Nederland office of the Public Prosecution Service (OM) has started a criminal investigation into comments that were made on the YouTube channel RoddelPraat on Wednesday. Jan Roos, one of the presenters of the online show, has been taken in for questioning.

Sunneklaas is a variant of the Sinterklaas celebrations celebrated on the island of Ameland. Many residents there consider it to be a private party exclusively for islanders, and thus it has been shrouded in mystery. It is mostly known as a crass variant of the annual holiday, and is considered by many to be misogynistic.

During the broadcast in question, Roos advised people from Ameland to unite "with pitchforks and torches" and to kick journalists who wanted to report on the event off the island. "Fuck off. Finish them off. Shoot them down before they even get off the boat," said Roos.

The OM believes that the episode of RoddelPraat may have been an attempt to incite "violence and a suggestion on how to treat journalists on Ameland with regard to the Sunneklaas celebrations.”

Journalists from the broadcaster PowNed were attacked by groups of people from Ameland last December when they were trying to report on Sunneklaas. It was announced in July that two men were going to be prosecuted for this. They are suspected of public violence and threats.

“It has to be clear to everyone that (encouraging) violence, especially considering the events of last year, will not be tolerated by the police and the OM,” said the Public Prosecution Service on Friday.