Police again clashed with anti-immigration protesters in the Dutch town of Loosdrecht, deploying water cannons and riot units after demonstrators threw fireworks and other projectiles near a recently opened asylum shelter housing migrants.
According to local media reports, several arrests were made during the protest, which escalated for the third consecutive week. Demonstrations first began in late April after local authorities announced plans to house migrants in a former town hall building in the Nieuw-Loosdrecht district.
Under the original proposal, 110 single male migrants would have been relocated to the facility, immediately sparking outrage among local residents, who accused authorities of either failing or refusing to properly consult the community and ignoring concerns regarding public safety.
🇳🇱 A Dutch town of 9,000 people has been in open revolt for 3 days straight
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 14, 2026
The plan: drop 110 young male asylum seekers into Loosdrecht, a quiet commune that had zero say in the matter
The response: massive public resistancepic.twitter.com/v9bGtE2ri1 https://t.co/SjCuEMHmWc
During several nights of demonstrations earlier in April, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the site, throwing eggs, fireworks, and other objects at riot police.
Authorities responded by deploying heavily equipped police units, imposing emergency restrictions around the area, and later reducing the planned number of migrants from 110 to 70 in an attempt to calm tensions.
The situation escalated further on Tuesday night, when demonstrators reportedly set fire to bushes surrounding the shelter while migrants and staff members were still inside the building. Firefighters attempting to extinguish the blaze allegedly faced obstruction before police secured the area.
Right-wing politicians and activists, both in the Netherlands and across Europe, voiced support for the demonstrators. Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders sharply criticized the government’s asylum policies, arguing that Dutch citizens are fed up with mass migration and renewing his calls for a complete asylum freeze and tougher border controls.
Thierry Baudet, founder of the Dutch political party Forum for Democracy (FvD), also reacted to the unrest, claiming that the demonstrations reflected broader public frustration with the Dutch political establishment’s handling of migration and asylum policy.
Dutch right-wing activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek similarly criticized the government’s migration policies, arguing that ordinary Dutch citizens are increasingly ignored when raising concerns regarding migration, public safety, and national identity. Other right-wing accounts described the scenes in Loosdrecht as symbolic of a broader European backlash against migration policies.
For context: the government took the decision to put up a new asylum center without ever even consulting the locals first. In response, the locals protested peacefully and were immediately met with huge police forces. Young children were beaten with batons and worried citizens… https://t.co/ygaONEP6v1
— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) May 13, 2026
Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten condemned the violence as ‘utterly scandalous’, stressing that while peaceful protest is legitimate, attacks on police, emergency services, and asylum shelters are unacceptable. Acting mayor Mark Verheijen similarly warned that the riots themselves were now generating fear and insecurity within the local community.
According to reports, authorities have also begun examining whether the protests are being coordinated beyond local grassroots opposition, while intelligence services are reportedly investigating possible organized involvement behind anti-migration sentiment across the Netherlands.
Similar anti-migration protests have recently occurred in Apeldoorn, Houten, Den Bosch, and The Hague, reflecting growing nationwide tensions surrounding Dutch migration policy.
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