Prison recommended for member of far-right group, which FvD seems to be recruiting from
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended a prison sentence of two years, of which one is conditionally suspended, against 24-year-old Thomas D. from Erp. The man was arrested in August last year on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, though the OM has dropped the terrorism charge against him. D. is a self-proclaimed member of the far-right group Geuzenbond, one of several far-right groups which Thierry Baudet’s FvD seems to be recruiting from for the upcoming municipal elections.
D. is facing charges of possession and manufacturing of prohibited weapons. The police arrested him in August after receiving a warning from the intelligence service AIVD that the man may be preparing to commit right-wing terrorist violence. The AIVD reported that D. espouses right-wing extremist ideology, has firearms and ammunition hidden in his home, and has spoken about killing “antifa.”
Upon his arrest, the police discovered a large quantity of firearms, ammunition, and other weapons like crossbows and knives in D.’s home. Investigators also found tactical vests and other militia, some hidden in secret spaces, as well as a workshop where weapons and ammunition were being worked on. Data storage devices contain digital manuals for building and converting firearms, tear gas, landmines, and ammunition.
D.’s data carriers also contained extensive far-right literature, propaganda, and symbolism that “unmistakably point to right-wing extremist ideology, population replacement, and the need for remigration,” the OM said. Among this was a PDF copy of the book “A Hard Reset,” which has been banned in England. It praises right-wing extremist attackers and urges readers to follow their examples, explaining how to overthrow a society through violence.
The man claimed that weapons were his hobby and that his talk about kiling antifa was probably drunken boasting. But the OM is unconvinced. “The question is also: where does the love for weapons end? Today it's making them for yourself, tomorrow it's shooting?” the prosecutor said in court.
The OM is concerned about a suspect whose activities appear to be on the verge of extremism. “With such an ideology, the step to violence is small, either for the suspect himself or his supporters. If all of this takes place in a setting where weapons are readily available and normalized, it’s terrifying. The suspect had the weapons and the workshop in his home, a home that also served as a meeting place - a regulars’ table - for the Geuzenbond.”
Nevertheless, the OM could not find enough evidence to charge the man with terrorism. B. is facing one year in prison for possession and manufacturing of weapons. The court will rule against Thomas D. on February 26.
FvD recruiting from the Geuzenbond
Geuzenbond is an organization aimed at young people in the Netherlands and Belgium and is considered far-right by the Dutch authorities. The police’s knowledge center CTER describes it as acting largely within the law, but adds that the group "adheres to and actively propagates ethno-nationalist, fascist, racist, and anti-democratic ideology."
The Volkskrant discovered that the far-right party FvD seems to be recruiting from this and other far-right organizations for its candidate lists for the upcoming municipal elections. Three of its candidates are active in Geuzenbond - Daan Meershoek (number 2 in Nijmegen), Tim van Setten (number 6 in Rotterdam), and Vos Leijnse (number 10 in Rotterdam).
FvD’s number 2 candidate in Nijmegen, Frank Folkerts, was active for the Nederlandse Volks-Unie (NVU), a party that called the German occupation of 1940 to 1945 an “ideological liberation.” Folkerts was the leader of the NVU in Overbetuwe in 2010. Reginald Eekhout, number 7 in Amsterdam, was a prominent member of the far-right organization Voorpost, classified as far-right by the AIVD.
A spokesperson for the FvD declined to comment to the Volkskrant on individual candidate council members. But the spokesperson said they were “incredibly proud” of the candidate lists and were “very optimistic” about the March 18 elections. The FvD is participating in 104 municipalities, double the number of the previous municipal elections in 2022.
