In response, dozens of people arrived in Bodegraven in the spring of 2021 to offer their condolences to the children they believed had been murdered without evidence, leaving flowers along the long path leading from the road to the local graveyard. “I lay these flowers in honor of Joost Knevel (hero of heroes!) and the other victims of satanic abuse,” read a message left at the children’s graves, which has since been removed. They signed their message with the hashtag #StopVanDissel.
“I was really angry,” Ida Bromberg describes how she felt after these visitors left a teddy bear jewelry on the grave of her father, who is buried in Bodegraven. “The idea of some of these crazy people going to his grave and doing all these things really hit me.”
The Bodegraven Plot sent ripples across the country. After his home address was leaked by Kat’s website, Red Pill Journal, Van Dissel had to call in 24-hour security. In October 2021, a man was arrested on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister after posting a message to a Red Pill Journal-affiliated Telegram group, De Bataafse Republic, which has since been removed by Telegram.
By May, the municipality of Bodegraven had resorted to legal action to try to stem the tide of conspiracies sweeping the town. The then mayor, Christiaan van der Kamp, said he was afraid that the attention the city received could result in violence. “Last year a man was beaten to death in Arnhem during a so-called ‘pedo hunt’,” he told the Dutch newspaper. ADVERTISEMENTadding that he did not want a repeat in Bodegraven.
Kat was arrested in July 2021 in Northern Ireland, where he lived, and was eventually extradited to the Netherlands last year. Knevel, who was based in Spain, was also extradited in August 2021 on charges of inciting violence and was sentenced to 15 months in prison in June 2022. Raatgever, who published a video in which he shouted “child abuser” at Van Dissel as he cycled past, was also sentenced to 18 months in prison in June 2022. Bodegraven also initiated legal action against the platforms used by the men. Police forced the closure of two Telegram channels with a total of 13,000 members. And in September 2022, the municipality also took Twitter to court, attempting — and failing — to force the platform to remove remaining traces of the Bodegraven plot.
In Bodegraven, local residents praise the proactive action of the municipality for the fact that life has returned to normal here. “It’s over for me,” says Bromberg, adding that she no longer thinks about the incident now that those responsible have been convicted. Local residents in the city say the same. “It’s like it never happened,” says Manon von Agmond as she pushes a stroller down the main street. Another resident, Remco Zwaan, says the whole affair is now just a funny story he talks about with his friends. “I think everyone has moved,” agrees Stefanie, who has lived in the city for two years but refuses to share her last name.
The conspiracy cloud above Bodegraven may have disappeared, but not everyone is so sure that this episode is over for the Netherlands. “QAnon is vague and broad and general,” says Daniël de Zeeuw, who refers to QAnon as a super conspiracy myth that can adapt particularly well to different countries. In the Netherlands, he describes QAnon finding an affinity with new-age, alternative subcultures that normally report on food and well-being. “It’s kind of like a meme,” he adds. “It’s a template that people can use and adapt to their own preference or their own local context.”
