Man arrested for preparing to assassinate Dutch PM Rutte
The police arrested a 22-year-old man from Amsterdam this summer for plotting an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Yavuz O. posted inciting messages in Telegram groups, also asking where he could find weapons and shooters, the Volkskrant and NU.nl reported.
In one of the Telegram channels, O. posted a photo of the Rutte III cabinet with the King on December 12. "Indeed, thanks to them, the Netherlands is screwed," he wrote with the photo, according to NU.nl. "Would you have what it takes to shoot them all? From a car. Open the window. Gun out. And shoot." He also tried to recruit people to help him. "Get fighters first. Not just any fighters, serious people who want to do something," he said on the messaging app. And: "I'm not looking for protesters. I'm looking for revolutionaries. Shooters/hitters/armed/violence. Everything allowed."
According to the Volkskrant, O. was active in, among others, the public Telegram channel "De Bataafse Republiek," which translates to "The Batavian Republic." This channel was founded by known conspiracy theorists Micha Kat, Joost Knevel, and Wouter Raatgever. It was taken offline by the judiciary earlier this week due to inflammatory and threatening messages shared there.
O. is scheduled to appear in the court of The Hague next week for a pro-forma hearing. He is suspected of threats, incitement with a terrorist objective, and preparing to attack one or more politicians, including the Prime Minister.
Last month it became apparent that Rutte was given extra security. Newspaper AD reported that organized crime members were targeting him to kill or abduct him. Whether the additional protection is related to O.'s arrest is unclear.
