Prosecutors seek prison time for two Overijssel men accused of arming sovereign citizens

The Public Prosecution Service has recommended prison sentences of six and four years for Rinke L. (26) and Matthijs H. (28) from the province of Overijssel. The two men are accused of supplying ten firearms to a group of alleged radical sovereign citizens. L. admitted in the Rotterdam court on Wednesday that the deliveries took place in November 2023.

In April last year, L. was caught red-handed during the handover of three more firearms in a parking lot in Heeten, a village in the municipality of Raalte. Prosecutors say the buyer, 46-year-old Arjan van den B. from Deventer, planned with others to launch an armed revolt against the Dutch government, with the mayor of Deventer specifically named as a target.

“The suspects were not discouraged from delivering the weapons,” the prosecutor said. According to the prosecution, this constitutes terrorism, and the arms dealers were aware of it. The prosecutor called the arms trade “extremely serious,” noting that “the trafficking of firearms inevitably leads to their use and to serious offenses.”

H. told the court that he had connected his colleague Van den B. with his close friend L. from Olst-Wijhe, who claimed to be in touch through Telegram with someone able to provide converted gas pistols. L. had also purchased several weapons for his own use, which were later discovered during a house search.

H. was not present when the weapons were handed over in April 2024. “I never kept any weapons at home,” he told the court. “I truly regret what happened. I was naïve.” L. echoed that sentiment before the judges, saying, “It was foolish to have weapons in my house. I’ve hurt my parents and my girlfriend by doing so.”

In court, both men described themselves as farmers’ sons who grew up shooting air rifles on their family farms out of bravado. They said they were unfamiliar with the concept of sovereign citizens and only learned about it after their arrest, when they discovered what Van den B. was accused of.

Defense lawyers Jaap-Willem Roozemond and Justin Zwaan stressed that their clients had neither terrorist motives nor anti-government intentions. They argued that the plan of the weapons buyer, Van den B., lacked any real substance. “There was a lot of talk, but no specific target or goal,” Roozemond said. The defense maintained that nothing indicates L. ever meant to assist in a terrorist act.

The trial will resume on Thursday with hearings for Van den B. and two co-defendants. The court is expected to issue its ruling for all ten defendants on November 28.