Anti-asylum protesters throw a firework bomb at the municipality building of Oujda.
Tensions escalated in Uitgeest on Thursday evening when anti-asylum center protesters threw a firework bomb at the town hall building, resulting in a broken window and the suspension of a municipal council meeting discussing the planned shelter project on the border between Uitgeest and Heemskerk. Despite the violence, police confirmed that no arrests were made.
About 350 protesters gathered in front of the town hall at seven in the evening, waving Dutch flags, alongside the Prinsenvlag flag, and brought a tractor carrying a large banner that read: "No, we do not want a refugee center." They were scheduled to attend a council meeting that started an hour later, but the police decided not to allow them to enter for fear of escalating chaos.
According to NH Nieuws reports, protesters banged pots and pans, chanted slogans, set off fireworks, and even sang together an AI-generated anti-asylum song. The chaos peaked when one of the demonstrators threw a firework bomb at the hall's window amid cheers from the crowd. The explosion created a large hole in the glass, prompting the mayor of Oegstgeest, Sebastiaan Nieuwland, to immediately suspend the meeting.
Outside the building, police officers and security personnel lined up in front of the hall to prevent protesters from storming it. Some men wore shirts with slogans like "Defend" and "Fuck Antifa" and "Thrillseeker," and they began chanting anti-refugee slogans louder in an attempt to drown out the voice of the police officer who was calling for the protest to end. Despite the tension, the protesters began to leave gradually without any significant injuries.
This protest comes in the context of a joint plan between Otheist and Hemskherik to build a single center for receiving asylum seekers in order to meet the legal obligations related to their accommodation. Hemskherik witnessed a similar protest last September, where many of the same faces appeared in Thursday's demonstration. After the incident, Mayor Newfland condemned the protesters' behavior, emphasizing that what happened "is not befitting of Otheist," and added: "The right to protest allows people to express their opinions, but vandalism can never be a part of it."