They threaten tribunals for ministers, but today they face court themselves: three men who spread conspiracy stories about child abuse. The Public Prosecution Service suspects them of incitement to murder and threats against RIVM director Jaap van Dissel, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and outgoing Minister Hugo de Jonge.
Their conspiracy theories also inspire others to commit crimes, even an attack. Who are the suspects and how did they end up in court?
Satanic child murder
It concerns Joost K., Wouter R. and Hans de M. Central to all their theories is the South Holland town of Bodegraven and the story of Joost K. Since 2020, he claims to have recovered memories of satanic ritual infanticide in Bodegraven in the 1980s. Children were allegedly abused and killed by Satanists, people who worship the devil. Among them prominent Dutch.
K., who lives in Spain but has been extradited to the Netherlands, accuses Jaap van Dissel, among others, of being involved in the abuse. For example, in an online video stream, he says, “Whoever gives him his well-deserved neck shot is a hero.” Van Dissel must be secured against this.
According to his lawyer, Peter Plasman, K. realizes that he has gone too far. “He has made a number of statements that are not pleasant. He says: I should not have done that, I understand that that is punishable and I accept the consequences.”
However, K. still stands behind his accusations, says Plasman. “He says: I have a certain internal drive had to expose this, this needs to be investigated.”
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Hugo de Jonge is not allowed to roam free.
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The second suspect, Hans de M., will make a documentary in 2020 about the stories of K. He is a convinced Christian. He proclaims that masks and vaccines come “from hell”.
Together with the other suspects and with Micha K., who has already been convicted and stuck in a cell in Northern Ireland, he begins broadcasting online under the name Be The Resistance. In addition to the Bodegraven theory, the men often talk about corona policy. The M. calls childhood vaccination “legalizing infanticide”.
In one of the broadcasts, he says about caretaker minister Hugo de Jonge: “This guy is not allowed to roam freely at all. The first time you see him in The Hague or anywhere else, grab him.”
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In their broadcasts, the suspects often refer to conspiracy theories QAnon. This theory also boils down to the fact that a network of prominent figures is guilty of child abuse. Supporters believe former US President Donald Trump is secretly fighting that global elite, the deep statewho would seek a world government.
At a certain moment De M. leaves the group. The other three continue under the name Red Pill Journal.
This spring they are mobilizing groups of supporters via social media to come to the Bodegraven cemetery. Communication mainly goes through a few major channels on chat app Telegram.
In the cemetery, the conspiracy supporters lay flowers and notes on the graves of people who died young. They claim that it concerns the victims of the satanic pedo network:
The municipality of Bodegraven-Reeuwijk then issues an emergency order to keep the followers away from the cemetery. The municipality also wins summary proceedings against the conspiracy trio. The men must remove all libel and slander from social media.
And in June, Wouter R., the third suspect, was arrested at a shelter in Siddeburen, Groningen. The judge sentenced him to six months in prison for threatening the lawyer of the municipality of Bodegraven-Reeuwijk and incitement against Jaap van Dissel.
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R., like Hans de M., is a convinced Christian. He was baptized last year by De M. in the sea near Katwijk.
The conspiracy theorists also inspire their supporters to act of violence. This summer, the police will arrest 22-year-old Yavuz O., who is said to have plans to kill Prime Minister Rutte. O. was active in a Telegram group called the Batavian Republic, run by two of the three suspects.
In August, a firebomb is thrown inside a Groningen journalist. He had critically written about statements of support for the recently arrested Wouter R. and threats to Van Dissel. The two suspects in this attack are also supporters of the Red Pill Journal group.
Six other supporters of the group have previously received prison terms of several weeks to months for threats, defamation, slander and sedition.
Thousands of followers
This fall, the judiciary will block the Telegram channels of the conspiracy men, without the cooperation of Telegram itself. A unique step, according to the Public Prosecution Service. The two channels had about 13,000 followers.
So now the men are before the judge. Today is the pro forma hearing. Lawyer Plasman acknowledges that his client, Joost K., “goes too far in the methods he uses”. The lawyers for the other suspects have been unavailable for comment for months.
The case is about more than just the three men, says chief officer Michiel Zwinkels. “The impact is very large. We see that society is further polarizing. This case exemplifies that. If you do not agree with government policy, you should be able to say so. But it should not destroy the debate by everyone who thinks differently in to stop the dock and call on other people to commit violence.”
