D66 leader Sigrid Kaag issued a statement on Thursday afternoon describing the incident outside her home on Wednesday evening as ‘absurd and frightening’.

A 29-year-old conspiracy theorist was arrested for turning up at the door of Kaag’s private home, waving a burning piece of wood and shouting abuse. He will appear in court on Friday for a remand hearing.

Kaag said her family experienced the incident as being ‘very intimidating’. The constant threats being made against politicians are undermining the rule of law, she said. ‘We cannot let this happen in silence.’

She also directed comments at those making the threats, who she said, ‘are making our society unsafe’.

Gisteravond kreeg ik thuis bedreigend bezoek. Lees hier mijn reactie.

Mijn boodschap: wees voorzichtig met het woord, met elkaar, en wees zuinig op onze democratie. pic.twitter.com/BcowRuVFAk

— Sigrid Kaag (@SigridKaag) January 6, 2022

The man, named on social media as Max van den B, rang the doorbell and was ranting about the World Economic Forum and the Dutch Nazi party NSB.

The same man was also picked up near the house of outgoing health minister Hugo de Jonge last month. He was recognised from the footage live-streamed of both events on social media. The 27-year-old is also said to be a frequent attendee at anti-coronavirus measure demonstrations.

De Jonge told reporters on Thursday the blame for the event can be laid at the door of far right party Forum voor Democratie. The party’s MPs have been calling for ‘tribunals’ and ‘locking politicians up’ in a string of speeches in recent weeks.

Worrying

The increase in threats against MPs and politicians is ‘extremely worrying’ De Jonge said. The words chosen by FvD are not ‘without danger’ and some people feel legitimised in directing threats at politicians, De Jonge said.

Asked if it was justified to point a finger at FvD, De Jonge said ‘yes’. ‘We all know the words they have used, we all know their political methods,’ he said.

Kaag, who will be sworn in as the new finance minister on Monday, is currently in quarantine because of a coronavirus case ‘in her close circle’.