RoddelPraat presenter Jan Roos is being prosecuted for incitement, the Public Prosecution Service reports to ANP. In a video about the Sunneklaas festival, he said about journalists on Ameland: “Shoot them all”.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) started a criminal investigation in November into statements on the YouTube channel RoddelPraat. According to the OM, the channel “called for violence and made a suggestion on how to deal with journalists on Ameland on and around the Sunneklaas festival”.
Roos advised islanders in the video to unite “with pitchforks and torches” and “kick journalists off the island”. He was arrested and interrogated.
The 48-year-old presenter says in a reaction that he was previously approached by the OM for a conditional dismissal. According to him, that meant that he had to apologize for “a joke in a satirical program”. Roos did not agree to that.
The case will be handled by a police judge in Leeuwarden. According to a spokesperson, the Public Prosecution Service will only speak in the courtroom. The date of the hearing is not yet known.
Sunneklaas is a mystical variant of the Sinterklaas festival. It is mainly celebrated on Ameland.