Have you ever been so frustrated by a politician that you just wait for them to make a public appearance and then smack them over the head with your umbrella? No? Well, Thierry Baudet has driven one man to do so.
Baudet, a controversial conservative politician in the Netherlands who once described Putin as a “wonderful guy”, was given a mighty whack to the head as he entered Ghent University (Belgium) to give a lecture.
And the entire thing was captured on video. 👀
Nederlands politicus @thierrybaudet aangevallen nav toespraak aan @ugent… Politie staat erbij en kijkt ernaar. Hoe dikwijls hebben we dit al meegemaakt? Na #IS-aanslag weeral blamage voor onze veiligheidsdiensten. Rechtse politici zijn opgejaagd wild… pic.twitter.com/6MbJaTWKj5
— Filip Dewinter (@FDW_VB) October 26, 2023
Translation: Dutch politician Thierry Baudet attacked following speech to @ugent … Police stand by and watch. How many times have we experienced this? After #IS attack, yet another disgrace for our security services. Right-wing politicians are hunted game…
Many Dutch politicians have taken to X, describing the attack as “unacceptable.”
What exactly happened?
As far as investigators can tell, this was no attack by a terrorist organisation, however — just a man shouting in Ukrainian, the NOS reports.
After hitting Baudet with a foldable umbrella, the man began shouting: “No to fascism, no to Putinism.” Baudet let out a pained shout but continued into the building.
While both his head (and probably his ego) were bruised, Baudet was still able to give his planned lecture.
Speaking to NPO Radio 1 after the incident, Baudet explained that he had “a significant bump” on his head but “was able to give my lecture after having a glass of water. But it is, of course, very unfortunate that this happened.”
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Feature Image: Elekes Andor/Wikimedia Commons/CC4.0