According to an article on the Dutch news outlet NL Times, the mayor of the local communities of Opheusden and Kesteren, which are both part of the same municipality, found evidence that some anti-migrant rioters, who had partaken in violent protests in his community last month had come from outside the area to instigate acts of violence.

Mayor Jan Kottelenberg announced that "[i]t strongly appears that [recent] riots are being fueled by splinter groups from outside the municipality, who then incite our own local youth to participate in acts of severe violence."

"The authorities are accused of 'not listening' [to protestors], but that becomes rather difficult when someone hurls a Cobra firecracker at your head," Kottelenberg added.

Rally against asylum center turns violent

Last month, violent riots broke out first in Opheusden and later in Kesteren in response to the news of the opening of a new asylum seekers' center set to house 132 residents in the area.

Ten people were arrested during the demonstration, which was reportedly attended by roughly 300 people in total. Four police officers received medical treatment after suffering hearing damage during the event.

According to DutchNews.nl, stones and rocks were thrown at the police, and several buildings in the area suffered damage.

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The rally took place during a consultation at the local council over where exactly the refugees would be housed; Mayor Kottelenberg later said that he had not expected such a violent reaction, especially since his municipality had not yet specified a location for the center.

"In the nearly ten years I have served as mayor here, I have always seen our residents join forces constructively to tackle the challenges facing our community. … The riots of recent weeks are completely at odds with that picture," said Kottelenberg.

In response to the violence, the municipality issued an emergency order to declare Opheusden a security risk zone, resulting in protestors moving later to the protest in neighboring Kesteren, where the police managed to stop the situation from escalating.

In accordance with Dutch law, each municipality in the country has to provide facilities to house a certain number of asylum seekers in proportion to the number of residents within that area.

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Nearly half of all protestors found to come from other areas

According to a recent report by the NOS public broadcaster, citing a statement by Kottelenberg, the riots would appear to have been "incited by splinter groups from outside the municipality, who subsequently incite our own youth to participate in gross violence."

"In recent weeks, our youth threw heavy illegal fireworks at the police and the town hall. Fireworks that, in a number of cases, had been purchased and distributed by adults from outside. This is downright criminal and life-threatening," the report added, quoting the mayor.

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An earlier report on NOS from May said that on average, 42 percent of protestors in anti-migrant rallies across the Netherlands came from outside the areas where such riots have been taking place; the statistics reflect protests from January 1, 2025 to May 2026.

The numbers are based on police arrests; out of a total of 163 individuals arrested for violence during that period, the police disclosed the registered place of residence of about two-thirds of the rioters — mostly due to the other third being underage and therefore qualifying for additional protections to hide their identities.

Of those whose residence was disclosed, 61 were found to come from within the areas where violent protests took place, while 44 were found to have residences elsewhere in the Netherlands.

Some of the people participating in these far-right rallies were found to have traveled well over 100 kilometers to partake in these demonstrations.

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