Eric Kemperman, a senator for the FVD (Forum Voor Democratie), spent part of Saturday at the violent protest on The Hague’s Malieveld.
Following incidents of protesters attacking police at the rally, the Mobiele Eenheid (riot police) were forced to move in, and a noodbevel (emergency order) was declared, allowing police to forcibly remove the worst offenders.
Pepper spray, one water cannon, and several arrests later, some semblance of peace was finally restored to the Malieveld.
Given the chaos and confusion, it’s easy to imagine public figures slipping away unnoticed in the crowd. However, nothing slipped by NRC — the news outlet was the first to report that Kemperman was at the protest, in collaboration with the anti-fascist research group Kafka.
Who is Eric Kemperman?
Kemperman, 61, is a Rotterdam native currently sitting in the Gelderland Provincial Council and the Eerste Kamer (Dutch Senate).
He initially won his Senate seat with the BBB (BoerBurgerBeweging, or the Farmer-Citizen Movement), but left in May 2025, with NOS reporting that he no longer identified “with the substantive choices and conduct”.
That September, he joined FVD — yes, the same FVD that wants to run the so-called “Renaissance School“, built on the philosophy that “old Europe was better than the new”. (Oh, and you’re funding it.)
He didn’t exactly blend in
NRC reports that Kemperman was “dressed neatly in a suit with a pipe in his hand” and chatted to several demonstrators for an hour and a half.
This is based on footage uploaded to the social media website X, analysed by NRC and Kafka:
De uitbraak aan de rand van het Malieveld werd niet voorzien. De bedoeling was dat iedereen gefouilleerd zou worden, maar dat ging dus niet door. #malieveld #denhaag #wijzijnhetvolk pic.twitter.com/DglHuVbmbF
— Marc Wurfbain 🦀 (@WurfTwain) September 19, 2026
But what, exactly, was he doing amongst the sea of Neo-Nazi slogans, red armbands with swastikas, and “White Lives Matter” banners?
According to his wife, he had to be in The Hague for lunch, and decided to pop along to the protest out of curiosity. With a pipe in hand, as you do.
While the NRC was able to get in touch with his wife, Kemperman himself was far less forthcoming. In a WhatsApp message, he told the outlet: “After the publication of your article, our press officer will decide whether to respond to it via our own channels.”
He wasn’t the only FVD member at the rally, either
Kayleigh van Koppen, who supports the FVD Councillor in Delft as a commissielid (committee member), was also spotted.
She attended the protest with her boyfriend, John A, whom the NRC describes as “a co-founder of the neo-Nazi fighting club Active Club Dietsland and the group White Lives Matter”.
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