Police have arrested a 37-year-old man with no fixed place of residence in connection with an explosion at the office of D66. The incident occurred on Thursday evening at the party’s premises on Lange Houtstraat in The Hague, where a fireworks explosive detonated just after 9 p.m., causing damage to the building. No injuries were reported.
A heavy fireworks bomb was thrown through the letterbox of the building on Lange Houtstraat in The Hague, according to police. The force of the blast was so strong that the letterbox was torn from the door and landed on the opposite side of the street. While police characterised the damage to the property as “limited,” D66 parliamentary leader Jan Paternotte said the interior of the building looked like a “ravage.”
Around 9:04 p.m., when the blast occurred, over 30 members of the Jonge Democraten were inside the building attending a lecture by a diplomat, NU.nl reports. Paternotte described it as a “small miracle” that the explosion did not result in any injuries.
Authorities are continuing to investigate what motivated the suspect and whether he may have acted without accomplices. Forensic experts discovered traces of liquid near the office, which investigators say could point to an attempted firebombing alongside the explosion.
The office had already been targeted earlier this autumn, when it was damaged during unrest following an anti-immigration demonstration on the Malieveld in The Hague. During the disturbances, windows were broken, and a burning container was pushed in the direction of the building.
D66 Prime Minister Rob Jetten said he believes the attack was directed at the party, stressing that “while some believe they can advance their views through violence or intimidation, the public response shows that the vast majority in the Netherlands strongly reject this. The message is clear: in a democratic society like ours, violence and intimidation will not be tolerated, and will not silence public debate or political expression.”
The explosion was widely condemned across the political spectrum. ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Bikker described the perpetrators as “thugs,” while GroenLinks-PvdA leader Jesse Klaver called it a “direct attack on our democracy and the rule of law.”
The office will remain closed on Friday for the investigation and repairs, and is expected to resume normal operations on Monday.
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