Teen convicted in February knife threat at Dutch parliament; Avoids more jail time

The District Court of The Hague sentenced 19-year-old Tijn B. to juvenile detention on Wednesday after he entered the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, building with a knife in February and threatened a receptionist. Since he has already spent part of the sentence in pre-trial detention, he does not need to serve further time in prison, and part of the sentence is conditional. Earlier, B. stated that he hoped to be shot by the Koninklijke Marechaussee during the incident.

Prosecutors had recommended 240 hours of community service, but the judge decided it wasn’t needed. The court sentenced B. to 360 days in juvenile detention, of which 191 days are conditionally suspended. He must also follow the probation service’s special conditions, including undergoing treatment.

The court also ordered the man from Nijmegen to move back in with his parents, abstain from alcohol and drugs, stay away from the Parliament building, and pursue a productive daily routine, through either work or education.

B. traveled from Nijmegen to The Hague by train while carrying a kitchen knife. Outside the Parliament building, he tossed some personal items, including his phone, into the water. Once inside, he threatened the receptionist, saying he would stab her if she didn’t let him in. He then leaped over the entrance gates into a restricted area, brandishing the knife and making stabbing motions on a door that the security guards were keeping closed until the military police managed to subdue him.

The suspect has been found guilty, among other charges, of making threats related to a terrorist act. “The court believes that the suspect’s behavior could have created a fear that he intended to attack a politician, constituting a terrorist offense,” the ruling states. “His aim was to come across as dangerous and threatening.”

The court called the act a “serious, invasive, and terrifying crime” that occurred at the “heart of democracy.” However, the court judged B.’s actions less harshly because he has been diagnosed with disorders.

B.’s actions caused a committee meeting to be interrupted. At the time of the incident, the asylum debate in the main chamber had already been paused.