A group affiliated with Antifa in the Netherlands has claimed responsibility for an attack on Dutch populist leader Thierry Baudet during a campaign event in Groningen on Monday evening.
The night before the general election in the Netherlands, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper revealed that the assailant of Forum for Democracy (FvD) leader Thierry Baudet was a 15-year-old associated with a local branch of the leftist militant Antifa activist group.
According to the report, the Antifa group, Antifascist Action North (AFA Noord), confirmed that the assailant was part of their far-left organization, declaring, “We are disrupting and blocking gatherings in our fight against fascism and right-wing extremism. This young man acted based on his conviction and seized the opportunity.”
A representative for the leftist group declined to confirm if the assault was planned but mentioned that Antifa does “not always” rule out the use of violence.
The Antifa activist proceeded to hold the populist politician responsible for the attack on himself, stating, “Baudet’s words incite violence. Enough is enough.”
During the Monday attack, Baudet, along with fellow members of his right-wing populist party, was campaigning in a cafe in the northern Dutch city of Groningen when the assailant smashed a glass beer bottle into the side of his head several times.
Baudet, a member of the Netherlands’ House of Representatives, was quickly taken to the hospital and treated by a trauma surgeon.
Fortunately, the populist politician walked away from the incident largely unharmed, particularly considering the bottle’s proximity to his temple and eye.
Baudet and the Forum for Democracy party have urged the Dutch government to place Antifa on the state’s “terror list.”
“Antifa is an explicitly terrorist organization,” the party said in a statement, continuing: “Antifa is a criminal organization and should be classified as such so that more effective means of investigation can be used to prevent this kind of political violence in the future.”
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