Suspected right wing terrorist arrested near Amsterdam while preparing an attack
A suspected right-wing terrorist allegedly planning an attack in the Netherlands was arrested on Thursday at a location in Badhoevedorp, a village situated between the city of Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport. A search of his registered home, a squatted vacant restaurant in Boerdonk, turned up several prohibited firearms, along with ammunition, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced on Friday.
The 24-year-old man is currently suspected of preparing a terrorist attack and weapons charges, as well as the illegal production of weapons and ammunition. He admitted to being a member of several far-right and white nationalist organizations, including the Geuzenbond, the OM said. He appeared before an examining magistrate in Rotterdam on Friday, who decided to remand the suspect to jail for 14 days while the investigation continues.
The case against the suspect developed from a report filed by Dutch civilian intelligence service AIVD. The raid on the squatted restaurant took place Thursday morning, with police securing the area using trained dogs and a camera mounted on a four-legged drone. Investigators also focused their attention on a BMW sport-utility vehicle at the building in Boerdonk. The village is close to the town of Erp, and both are part of the municipality of Meierijstad, Noord-Brabant.
The Geuzenbond targets young people, and should be considered a threat to society, said the NCTV, the Dutch national counterterrorism office. It has a presence in both the Netherlands and Belgium, and can be found online and at demonstrations. "The Geuzenbond is classified as one of the so-called 'active clubs,' which strive to normalize extremist right-wing ideology and empower the 'blanke race' through physical training," the OM stated.
The Dutch word, "blanke", can be considered to mean an absence of color when used in this manner. The outdated term is often used by white supremacists in place of the more commonly used, "wit", to describe an individual's pale skin tone.
Members of the Geuzenbond founded the Groot Nederlandse Studentenvereniging (GNSV), a nationalist student association, and are actively involved with the association. GNSV members were attacked during an event at Radboud University in Nijmegen in August 2023. Three individuals were arrested as a result of the incident.
The suspect arrested in Badhoevedorp will next face an arraignment hearing before a three-judge panel at a district court. During that hearing, he can be ordered to remain in pre-trial detention for up to 90 days. That period can then be extended in subsequent hearings.
Badhoevedorp is officially part of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in Noord-Holland. While it is just outside of Amsterdam, it is over 120 kilometers away from the squatted restaurant in Boerdonk.
