Court releases “sovereign” citizens to be tried for radical attack plot targetting cops

Four of five men in custody for months on allegations they were plotting acts of terror targetting Dutch governmental organizations were released from pre-trial detention during the third preliminary hearing in the case. The decision by the District Court for Noord-Nederland was made despite prosecutors telling the judges in Leeuwarden that they were expanding the case to determine whether at least one of the suspected sovereign citizens was planning or encouraging the poisoning of undercover police officers.

Former lawyer Arno van K., 62, along with co-defendants Ritske B., 66, and John van K., 61, will be released next Thursday. Arms dealer Jan B., 75, from Hulten in Noord Brabant, will also have his pre-trial detention suspended. Only Chris van V., 55, from Den Bosch, remains in custody; his earlier detention had been lifted, but he was re-arrested on new allegations. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) suspects the two men from Noord Brabant of supplying weapons to the network.

The date for the full hearing of the criminal case has not yet been set. The court cited this uncertainty as one reason for granting the defendants temporary freedom. All the defendants will receive electronic ankle monitors next week and are required to follow certain conditions. The court has prohibited them from contacting co-defendants or witnesses. The three defendants residing in Friesland are barred from leaving the country and must hand in their IDs and passports.

The OM says that Van K. had previously approached a doctor about “methods to neutralize plainclothes officers at demonstrations.” He reportedly asked about the use of toxic beans, intending for the poison to be administered with darts to undercover police officers.

Prosecutors said that an anonymous witness’s testimony “aligns perfectly” with reports from the AIVD, the country’s domestic intelligence agency, of co-defendant Ritske B. The beans are capable of producing the lethal toxin ricin.

Messages recovered from B.’s phone show conversations between B. and Van K. about darts and beans. The OM said that the pair used coded language to discuss weapons; for instance, the term “sharp tools” was a reference to a crossbow.

B. was also part of a group chat linked to Common Law Sheriffs, a movement that rejects the authority of the current government and promotes the idea of armed “sheriffs.” The Rotterdam court has recently ruled that the group qualifies as a criminal organization.

Both B. and Van K. deny supporting sovereignist ideologies. B.’s lawyer stated that the material recovered from his phone is from 2022 and that the police found no incriminating evidence from later dates.

B. and Van K. are currently housed in the terrorism unit of the Vught prison. In court, they recounted an incident with fellow prisoners who, their lawyers claim, follow extremist jihadist ideologies.

The conflict, which involved a Christmas tree, required intervention by prison staff. Since then, the two men have felt unsafe. “I fear for my own safety,” B. stated, explaining that he spends most of his time in his cell to avoid confrontations with other inmates.