Hague man arrested for assaulting three people at Utrecht Pride
The police arrested a 28-year-old man from The Hague on suspicion that he assaulted three people in separate incidents at Utrecht Pride on Saturday. The police are still investigating whether this involved anti-LGBTQIA+ violence, a spokesperson told RTL Nieuws.
According to the police, these involved three separate incidents in which a man struck the victims. They sustained minor injuries and did not require hospitalization. But the description they provided of their attacker corresponded remarkably. The descriptions led the police to the 28-year-old man from The Hague.
“The man is still in custody, and we are investigating to see if he was actually involved in the three incidents,” a spokesperson for the police told RTL Nieuws. “We are also looking into whether the assaults are related to Pride, or whether they happened during Pride but had a different motive and are therefore not directly connected to the theme of the event.”
The investigation is ongoing, and the police have asked witnesses to come forward.
On the day before Pride Utrecht, the advocacy group COC Midden-Nederland warned that anti-LGBTQIA+ violence was on the rise in the region. The 2025 Midden-Nederland Discrimination Monitor showed an increase in incidents against homosexual and transgender people. The municipality of Utrecht said that reports of homophobic discrimination have increased sixfold in three years. The police also recorded more reports of violence, harassment, and hostile treatment against people from the LGBTQIA+ community.
