Dozens arrested trying to squat a building during Amsterdam housing protest

The police made dozens of arrests on Sunday evening after the well-attended housing market protest in Amsterdam. The group of suspects were attempting to squat a building, according to the police.

A police spokesperson said the group split from the other demonstrators when the protest march arrived on Dam Square. "They used violence directed at the police, and tried to erect barricades. The group was surrounded before they could squat a building on the Gravenstraat," the police said.

Officers held their ground and tried to close in, but the group tried to stop the police, the spokesperson said. Streets in the surrounding area, like Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal near Magna Plaza and Eggertstraat behind the Nieuwe Kerk, were closed by police, AT5 reported. “We boxed them in and arrested them all."

He emphasized that those in detention are supporters of the squatters' movement, and in that sense are separate from the large group of demonstrators who demonstrated for better housing opportunities. The arrests were made after the demonstration was over and most of the protesters had gone home.

Demonstrators that were still present at 7:15 p.m. included people wearing balaclavas, waving sticks, and calling for an end to the establishment, according to AT5. They also shouted slogans like, “Squatting will continue!”