WATCH: Police Beat Down Dutch Farmer Protesters with Batons

AMSTERDAM, the NETHERLANDS - JULY 23: Demonstrators attend a rally of the Netherland In Re
Mohamed Farouk Batiche/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

Police in the Netherlands were filmed forcefully cracking down on a protest from a Dutch farmer group over the removal of an anti-government mural in the city of Almelo on Monday afternoon.

Following an order from Mayor Arjen Gerritsen to remove a mural of the inverted Dutch flag, which has become a symbol of the farmer protest movement as it is seen locally as a show of dissatisfaction with the government, a group of protesters came to defend the mural, which was painted on a wall near the town hall of Almelo, local broadcaster RTV Oost reported.

The mural also featured the words “no farmers, no food,” referencing the EU-driven green agenda that globalist PM Mark Rutte is trying to impose. Under the scheme, nitrogen emissions would have to be cut by 70 per cent by 2030, putting at least 30 per cent of farms in the country at risk of closing.

According to footage posted on social media filmed at the same time as other footage shared by Dutch newspaper De Twentsche Courant Tubantia, the peaceful protest turned violent after a police officer shoved an activist and then shortly began swinging his baton, sparking outrage among the other protesters. The rest of the police force were then seen beating back the angered crowd with their batons.

Undeterred, the farmers refused to back down, ultimately forcing the police into an apparent retreat.

In total, four people were arrested during the protest, according to the mayor, who warned of further action.

“The police have registered license plates and will still take action against people, so that will have a tail in the context of criminal law,” Gerritsen said. “There were serious disturbances, people committed violence against the police. I do not tolerate that and then I act, together with an excellent team of police officers.

Following the protest, the municipality removed the inverted flag mural, replacing it with a blue and yellow painting reading: “Water City”.

The protests against the EU-based climate agenda, which many see as an attempt by the government to grab land that has been held by generations of farmers, has shown no signs of slowing down in its third month of action this year.

Indeed, the methods have only begun to intensify, with manure, flaming bales of hay and other waste being dumped on motorways to form roadblocks, causing widespread chaos last week.

While the more extreme actions have drawn some pushback, the farmers still enjoy strong support among the Dutch public, with nearly four-in-ten directly supporting the protest movement and and 71 per cent saying that they understand why the farmers are outraged by the proposed caps on nitrogen, a common fertiliser essential for many farmers to remain competitive.

“There is less support for radical activism on the highways, but support for the resistance against the government’s nitrogen plans remains strong. The inverted flags don’t just hang on farmyards, they can be seen in numerous regions. Mostly in the North and East,” according to the Elsevier Weekblad magazine.

The magazine noted that the inverted flag symbols are more commonly hanging in the countryside and the more impoverished urban districts rather than in the ” elite Amsterdam South or the Statenkwartier in The Hague”.

The protest movement has also drawn support from abroad, including from former President Donald Trump, who said at a campaign rally last month: “Farmers in the Netherlands of all places are courageously opposing the climate tyranny of the Dutch government.”

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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