Riot police block far-right march on Malieveld in The Hague after clashes

Police intervention on the Malieveld

A gathering organized by the far-right group Wij Zijn Het Volk on the Malieveld in The Hague escalated into confrontations on Saturday as riot police moved in to contain the crowd. Several hundred demonstrators began assembling around 11:00 to demonstrate against immigration and government policies. When the group prepared to leave the field at around 13:00 to start a planned march through the city, multiple attendees dressed in black sought confrontations with law enforcement. Protesters threw heavy fireworks at police lines and repeatedly argued with officers over the prohibition of face coverings. Mobile unit officers armed with batons and shields formed containment lines, utilizing police vans and dogs to push the demonstrators back onto the open field.

Municipal prohibition of the march

Municipal authorities stepped in shortly after the initial clashes to block the procession from entering the city. The municipality of The Hague issued a formal ban on the march route, citing public disorder, physical violence directed at police officers, and the continuous use of prohibited face coverings. The planned route had been scheduled to guide participants from the Malieveld through the Burgemeester Patijnlaan, Carnegieplein, Plein 1813, Kneuterdijk, Lange Vijverberg, and Korte Voorhout. While the street procession was outlawed, local authorities allowed the stationary protest on the Malieveld to continue under strict perimeter security.

Extremist rhetoric and containment tactics

Police deployed substantial equipment around the perimeter to ensure protesters could neither reach the adjacent A12 motorway nor push into the city centre. Two water cannons were positioned nearby, including one stationed at the Plaats alongside the Hofvijver, while a helicopter monitored movements from above. Across the grass, participants displayed Prince's flags, neo-Nazi symbols, and White Lives Matter banners, while placing a large cross on the ground. A truck functioning as a stage displayed the slogan "Nederland is voor de Nederlanders" on a screen, where an onstage speaker discussed the far-right replacement theory. Some demonstrators wore blue jackets, white trousers, and red knee socks to mimic an inverted Dutch flag, while others chanted slurs against asylum centres and minority groups behind a banner reading "blanke mannen vooraan".

Arrests and local counter-demonstrations

Officers made several arrests on the perimeter of the field, including the detention of two young boys held for reasons not immediately disclosed. Attendance shrank as the afternoon progressed, with on-site observers estimating that no more than 300 demonstrators remained on the grass. The event took place exactly one year after the #Elsfest gathering on the Malieveld, which resulted in widespread riots and subsequent criminal convictions for violence against journalists and police. Ahead of Saturday's demonstration, internal disputes over extremist messaging had fractured the organizing coalition, which initially claimed to represent farmers, truckers, and fishermen. Elsewhere in The Hague, several dozen people assembled peacefully at the Spuiplein for a separate counter-demonstration held under the title "Tegen fascisme en voor inclusiviteit".