Dutch Populist Wilders Suspends Campaign Over Security Threat

Dutch populist leader Geert Wilders has put his campaign on hold “until further notice” after being informed that he was among several politicians in the crosshairs of a suspected terrorist group.

Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is currently leading in the polls ahead of a snap parliamentary elections set for Oct. 29, said on X Friday evening that the Dutch anti-terror agency NCTV had told him that he had “been named as a target” by a group planning several attacks on politicians including Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

“This is not the first time this has happened to me … but every time it happens, it shocks me enormously,” Wilders wrote on X. “I have a bad feeling about this and am therefore suspending all my campaign activities until further notice.”

Belgian authorities are holding two suspects in connection with a suspected attack on De Wever. Investigators on Thursday said they were probing evidence of plans to use a drone to detonate a potential explosive device for a “jihadist-inspired terrorist attack,” as well as bomb components made with a 3D printer.

The foiled plot comes as Europe scrambles to formulate a response to an increasing drone threat in its skies. In the last month, swarms of so-called unmanned aerial vehicles have violated Belgian, Polish, Romanian, Danish and Norwegian airspace.

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said it was “completely unacceptable” that Wilders was forced to stop campaigning, with the populist candidate opting to skip a key radio debate by Dutch state broadcaster NOS late Friday.

“I am confident that all security organizations and services involved will work closely together and do everything in their power to ensure that the campaigns and elections proceed safely,” Schoof wrote on X. “This is of the utmost importance for our democracy.”

Wilders has been subject to numerous threats in his political career stretching back two decades, including by al Qaeda militants in 2020 and a former Pakistani cricketer, who was handed a 12-year prison sentence in absentia for incitement to murder in 2023.