Bellingcat partnered with magazines De Groene Amsterdammer, Knack and Le Vif to analyze Lively Golf equipment and associated far-right actions within the Netherlands and Belgium, and labored with volunteers from the Netherlands-based Capitol Terrorist Exposers collective. Learn extra shops from this collaboration at De Groene Amsterdammer, Knack and Le Vif.
A Dutch affiliate of the white supremacist Lively Membership motion has in current months organised alongside the white nationalist behind a plot to expel thousands and thousands of immigrants mentioned by far proper German politicians and skilled in fight at a pan-European gathering of neo-Nazis in Hungary, an investigation by Bellingcat and Belgian and Dutch media companions can reveal. A member of the far proper group was additionally, till earlier this month, working as an intern for the federal government of the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant.
Pictures of a single sailboat revealed an open supply path resulting in De Geuzenbond, which first emerged on the Dutch far-right scene in 2018. The group later turned affiliated with the Lively Membership motion, a decentralised community of organisations that advocate for white supremacist fraternal brotherhood and preach extremist conspiracy theories just like the Nice Alternative principle.
Geuzenbond, Lively Golf equipment and “Remigration”
Willem Wagenaar of the the Amsterdam-based Anne Frank Basis, which researches right-wing extremism within the Netherlands, instructed Bellingcat that Geuzenbond “is a contemporary youth-oriented proper extremist organisation,”
“They work within the space between small real-life actions and sending messages on social media to advertise their concepts, entice a brand new following and mobilising help,” he stated. Except for in-person occasions, together with fight sports activities coaching, hikes and even crusing expeditions, Geuzenbond pushes frequent far-right tropes in its offline and on-line propaganda in step with different white nationalist teams.
Consultants have recognized Geuzenbond as a part of the Lively Membership community. In an October 2023 report, the U.S.-based World Challenge In opposition to Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) listed them amongst 150 Lively Golf equipment across the globe, together with a number of different Dutch teams.
Geuzenbond’s content material has been shared by different Lively Golf equipment on Telegram, together with the primary official worldwide Lively Membership channel. As Bellingcat has beforehand reported, Lively Golf equipment are impressed by the Rise Above Motion, a now-defunct militant streetfighting group whose neo-Nazi cofounder Robert Rundo is at present in a U.S. jail awaiting trial on federal rioting costs.
Lively Golf equipment “promise a large standing improve by white supremacy,” stated Alexander Ritzmann, a political scientist and senior advisor on the Counter Extremism Challenge. “It’s particularly fascinating for individuals who really feel unaccomplished, discriminated [against], unseen.…male fragility plus a bent for violence. That’s the audience.”
Within the Netherlands, Lively Golf equipment have attracted appreciable consideration from the nation’s authorities in current months. The Dutch Nationwide Coordinator for Safety and Counterterrorism (NCTV), in its most up-to-date December 2023 Terrorist Menace Evaluation (DTN) report, devoted a complete part of the report back to Lively Golf equipment and comparable teams.
Geuzenbond has remained comparatively small since its acknowledged founding in 2018. The group has simply over 1,000 Telegram subscribers, virtually 1,400 followers on X, and virtually 1,800 followers on Instagram as of January 2024. (Lively Membership France, by comparability, has over 7,000 Telegram subscribers).
Regardless of its measurement, Geuzenbond is well-connected to the worldwide far proper. In September 2023 the group revealed an interview with Thomas Rousseau, chief of American white nationalist group Patriot Entrance, in its journal. In October 2023, one in every of its members spoke at a far-right gathering in Brussels dedicated to the idea of ‘remigration,’ which the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) notes is utilized by extremists as a euphemism for “pressured deportations…to create an ethnically and culturally homogenous society” and “primarily a non-violent type of ethnic cleaning.”
Audio system on the Brussels occasion included Dries van Langenhove, a Belgian far-right activist and former politician at present on trial for allegedly breaking racism, Holocaust denial and weapons legal guidelines In 2018, a TV documentary uncovered non-public racist and antisemitic messages shared by members of Schild & Vrienden (‘Protect and Pals’ in Dutch), the far-right Flemish nationalist group he based and leads.
One other speaker was Manuel Corchia, a far-right extremist from Switzerland convicted of weapons costs and topic to fines for racial discrimination. He based a neo-Nazi group that shared the manifesto of the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch terror assaults with its members on Telegram.
However essentially the most infamous speaker there was the Austrian far-right chief Martin Sellner. Barred from america and the UK, Sellner has earned headlines lately for his correspondence with the Christchurch terrorist, who donated €1500 to him in 2018.
Sellner was additionally a central determine at a controversial November 2023 assembly with Various for Germany (AfD) politicians, the place attendees reportedly mentioned a “masterplan” of pressured deportations from the nation. A whole lot of 1000’s of Germans have demonstrated in current weeks in opposition to the plan whereas German authorities have reportedly banned him from coming into the nation.
Setting Sail
In an August 2020 publish on their Telegram channel, Geuzenbond posted photographs from what they described as a “crusing and tenting journey” within the Dutch province of North Holland. Amongst these photographs had been two of a small sailboat from which the group’s flag, of their phrases, “fluttered proudly from the mast of the boat.”
This might not be the final time a small sailboat appeared within the group’s propaganda, as evidenced by an October 2020 video, a July 2021 photograph and July 2023 photographs on the group’s Telegram channel. Bellingcat carried out a picture search utilizing Google with these photographs and among the many first outcomes for every had been photographs on an English-language crusing weblog written by a Netherlands-based boat proprietor.
In a December 2022 publish, the proprietor describes having looked for “a vessel appropriate for [his] son to camp and sail together with his mates everywhere in the lakes and rivers near dwelling right here within the Netherlands.” The creator describes having discovered a zalmschouw (‘salmon boat’ in English), a small kind of historic Dutch fishing boat; the publish is devoted to describing, with photographs, the particular boat he obtained.
Amongst these photographs is one which clearly exhibits figuring out letters and numbers on the port facet of the boat — ‘W Ok D 12.’
A photograph posted in July 2021 by Geuzenbond on their Telegram channel from their self-described “summer time camp” exhibits what is probably going the identical boat. Except for a number of different bodily resemblances, together with colors, markings and different options, ‘D 12’ is seen on the port facet of the vessel, with a person’s leg obscuring the place ‘W Ok’ could be. The positioning, font and lettering additionally seem equivalent to that of the boat posted on the crusing weblog.
An in depth comparability of the lettering on the boat in each photographs confirms the similarity.
European Battle Evening’s Dutch Followers
In a number of posts on the crusing weblog, the creator mentions having a son named Thomas and identifies him a variety of instances in photographs on the weblog relationship again to 2016.
On condition that the creator famous that he had received the boat “for [his] son” and that this boat appeared equivalent to the one which has appeared in a variety of Geuzenbond social media posts, Bellingcat manually searched by different Geuzenbond social media posts for photographs of similar-looking younger males.
Geuzenbond, nonetheless, obscures virtually all of the faces of members in its occasions in photographs it posts on-line, with a purpose to keep away from their identification. However in a single photograph from an April 2023 publish on the group’s Telegram channel, a person strongly resembling the Thomas who seems on the weblog may be seen holding a flag.
This isn’t the one photograph of the younger man resembling Thomas at a far proper occasion. Following a so-called European Battle Evening in Csókakő, Hungary in Could 2023, the German-language anti-fascist analysis platform Exif Recherche revealed over 100 photographs of attendees of the occasion in a small city in rural Hungary.
Within the wake of the occasion, organisers Légió Hungária revealed a promotional publish itemizing the nationalities of members within the fights, indicating that there was one fighter from the Netherlands amongst fighters from different nations, suggesting there might have been a small Dutch contingent on the occasion. Amongst these photographs are a number of of a person resembling Thomas.
Thomas didn’t reply to Bellingcat’s questions on his actions with Geuzenbond and his attendance at European Battle Evening.
Individually, whereas reviewing accounts and profile photographs of people who preferred Geuzenbond’s posts on Instagram, Bellingcat had famous a person named Diederik H. preferred a publish from September 2019, whose profile image resembled the person subsequent to Thomas at European Battle Evening. A fast on-line seek for this title revealed a LinkedIn account with the identical title and similar profile image.
As well as, Bellingcat noticed that a person resembling Diederik H. appeared, face unblurred, in an August 2023 Geuzenbond Instagram publish.
In line with a LinkedIn profile below his title and which accommodates his picture, Diederik H. works as an intern for the federal government of Noord-Brabant, a southern province of the Netherlands alongside the Belgian border. (The ‘about’ part of his LinkedIn profile reads, merely, “Cussed and curious.”)
A spokesperson for Noord-Brabant instructed Bellingcat that Diederik H.’s internship, which lasted six months, ended on February 1 and that the state “had no prior data of any connection of [him] with far-right organisations and actions.”
The spokesperson added that Diederik H. obtained a ‘declaration of excellent behaviour’ (verklaring omtrent het gedrag) from the nation’s justice ministry, a typical prerequisite for employment within the Netherlands akin to a felony data verify. “Ought to he have been energetic in unlawful actions or actions selling the usage of violence throughout his employment as an intern there would have been penalties,” they stated.
Diederik H. didn’t reply to Bellingcat’s questions on his actions with Geuzenbond or his attendance at European Battle Evening.
Extra open supply proof means that he had a Dutch comrade in Hungary him, one who was there to struggle.
“Every week of combating, taking pictures and having enjoyable in Budapest”
Among the many accounts that enjoyed Geuzenbond’s above-mentioned August 2023 Instagram publish was not solely the one in Diederik H.’s title, but in addition one with the username “m.sxe_” that identifies as “Merlijn.”
The Dutch title “Merlijn” additionally appeared because the mononymous creator of a September 2022 article in Geuzenbond’s journal.
As effectively, an individual who seems to be like the person in Merlijn’s Instagram profile photograph — with comparable gray boxing shorts — appeared in a June 2023 video of a Geuzenbond fight sports activities coaching session.
By looking out Merlijn’s username “m.sxe-” throughout Instagram, Bellingcat discovered that Merlijn left a handful of feedback on public posts. Two of these feedback stood out:
- A September 2023 remark studying “see you there🔥” on a publish from Italian band Inexperienced Arrows a couple of 2023 present of theirs in Sofia, Bulgaria. Bellingcat beforehand recognized the band as performers at a far proper occasion in Finland. (Inexperienced Arrows’ Instagram account preferred Merlijn’s remark).
- A remark tagging a consumer with the primary preliminary M and a Dutch surname on an April 2023 publish by Ukrainian far-right navy unit Freikorps.
Speculating that the surname belonged to Merlijn, Bellingcat did a easy internet search and located a public Fb profile and a LinkedIn profile for a younger Dutch man named Merlijn N.
Among the many profile photographs publicly seen on Merlijn N.’s Fb account had been:
- One equivalent to the profile image on the ‘m.sxe_’ Instagram account.
- One in every of Merlijn N. from Sofia, Bulgaria posted on October 23, 2023.
- One in every of Merlijn N. posted on Could 6, 2023 holding a rifle an indoor taking pictures vary that Bellingcat positioned to central Budapest. (In Hungary, taking pictures at licensed ranges is authorized for adults with the presentation of a legitimate passport or nationwide ID card; below regulation, weapons can’t be configured to automated hearth.)
- Three Could 2023 photographs of a boxer, together with his face blurred, at European Battle Evening sporting shorts from Pleasure France, the style model of French neo-Nazi Tomasz Szkatulski (a co-organizer of European Battle Evening), in addition to an orange Dutch nationwide soccer group jersey. These photographs had been both deleted or made publicly inaccessible after Bellingcat’s accomplice De Groene Amsterdammer reached out to Merlijn N. for touch upon January 29.
- An August 5, 2023 black-and-white photograph equivalent to 1 posted by Lively Membership Dietsland that was subsequently reposted on Lively Membership’s primary official worldwide channel. The faces within the photograph are blurred; one of many males is sporting Pleasure France shorts that look just like these from different photographs on the account, in addition to a bucket hat just like that worn by the boxer in gray shorts who appeared in Geuzenbond’s June 2023 video. (This photograph was both deleted or made publicly inaccessible after De Groene Amsterdammer reached out for touch upon January 29.)
A Bellingcat reporter despatched Merlijn N. a observe request utilizing a analysis Instagram account. Merlijn N accepted the request, inadvertently offering Bellingcat with additional perception into his actions. In an October 2023 publish, he posted photographs of himself in Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria, together with photographs of him posing with supporters of Levski Sofia, a soccer group with longstanding points with far-right supporters. He additionally posted a video from the aforementioned live performance the place Inexperienced Arrows performed.
In a Could 2023 publish with the caption “Weekje knokken, schieten en genieten in Boedapest” (“every week of combating, taking pictures and having enjoyable in Budapest”), Merlijn N. posted photographs of himself, face uncovered, sporting a European Battle Evening t-shirt with a medal round his neck. He additionally posted a photograph equivalent to 1 posted by a distinguished far-right Telegram account selling the Dutch “struggle group” at European Battle Evening, although on this case together with his face unblurred.
On this non-public account, Merlijn N. additional posted a video of himself taking pictures what he described as an “AK-47” on the Budapest taking pictures vary (as per Hungarian laws, solely single rounds, not automated rounds, are seen or audible) together with a photograph from the vary with the caption, “Sober, proud & harmful (and good-looking).” This photograph was the identical one which appeared on his Fb account.
Merlijn N. didn’t reply to Bellingcat’s questions on his participation in European Battle Evening, his relationship if any with the occasion’s organisers, or whether or not he deliberate on attending comparable far-right occasions in Europe in 2024.
Geuzenbond’s actions and connections to worldwide far-right actors, the Anne Frank Basis’s Wagenaar instructed Bellingcat, are unsurprising and indicative of extra common developments on the far proper. Thanks largely to the affect of worldwide far-right personalities on social media, like Rob Rundo and his Lively Membership mannequin, Wagenaar says that “the deal with bodily power, fight coaching, the manosphere and violence basically resonates with the brand new technology of right-wing extremists.”
Some far-right teams, Wagenaar instructed Bellingcat, are “roughly clear on their ideology, objectives and actions.” However within the case of teams like Geuzenbond, Wagenaar urges observers to concentrate to what he calls “the distinction between their front-stage presentation and their backstage concepts and actions,” and to distinction the best way teams like Geuzenbond current themselves with what they are saying and do away from the highlight.
“They fake to be first rate conservative organisations, however in truth are anti-democratic and inquisitive about violence as a political imply,” stated Wagenaar.
The Capitol Terrorist Exposers collective (@ j6dreamteam) contributed analysis and social media footprint tracing. Extra analysis and reporting was contributed by Brecht Castel and Lotte Lambrecht of Knack, Or Goldenberg and Samuel Verschoor of De Groene Amsterdammer, and Gaëtan Gras of Le Vif.
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