This text is part of the quarterly research results 3 ’23
In a short time, two important leaders of White Lives Matter Netherlands (WLM) came into contact with the judiciary twice. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to mitigate the personal and organizational consequences. However, such action is forbidden to them by the court.
It is fairly quiet around WLM in the Netherlands. The reason according to this action group: “The political oppression” of “pro-white activism.” According to the action group, the growth and fame of WLM is so threatening that “the system” dealt “blows” after the laser action on the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. Due to the arrest of the two leaders in February of this year, “WLM Netherlands is stagnating in growth.”
And that's why there is in August by Daniel Smirnov (1988), one of the suspects in the laser action on the Erasmus Bridge, started a crowdfunding campaign. The minimal goal is to raise money for a new body camera, sticker printer and telephone. This equipment was seized during the arrest in February, but “bought with our own money,” Smirnov said. Because Smirnov and his fellow detainee John Abrossimow (1998) are also dealing with legal costs and an alleged loss of income that occurred during the three-week pretrial detention, they need the donations to “recover more quickly from system oppression.” Smirnov remains silent about the seizure of a crossbow and 3D-printed parts for weapons. Apparently that is not a priority for WLM.
The prosecution for projecting racist slogans is not the only legal proceedings in which Smirnov and Abrossimow are involved. In March this year, they and another WLM activist were convicted of racism and violence. In this conviction the court states that the distribution of WLM material (and WLM related material) punishable. And in addition, a contact ban has been imposed on the leaders. Smirnov and Abrossimow are prohibited from contacting each other "in any way - directly or indirectly -" for a period of two years.
By starting this crowdfunding, Smirnov clearly violates this statement. Abrossimow has done it before, through his activities at the WLM affiliate Active Club Dietsland to continue.
Little help
The desired financial support is largely lacking. The WLM Telegram group has responded positively to the campaign, but only in the first four days of crowdfunding will a few tens of euros be received. After that it remains quiet for WLM. The first target amount of 500,- is far from being achieved. Let alone the highest target amount of over 2000,- covering all stated costs for the WLM activists. Due to the legal problems of Smirnov and Abrossimow, the WLM activist Jan van de Kar (1993) to be much more at the forefront of this organization. In July he tries to take responsibility for WLM by a laser projection action to be carried out on an office building in Capelle aan de IJssel. Thanks to attentive bystanders, Van de Kar was immediately arrested by the police. The laser projector has been confiscated and Van de Kar has been arrested continued due to group insult. The unfortunate loss of the laser projector causes costs to rise even further, but this is strangely not included in Smirnov's financial picture.
Issues
WLM's legal and financial setbacks cause many problems for the action group. And then the lawsuits regarding the Erasmus Bridge action and Van de Kar's laser action have yet to start. It seems that WLM cannot absorb these kinds of setbacks. This is evident, among other things, from the limited financial solidarity of the WLM supporters, who apparently prefers to only make non-binding comments on the Telegram channel. But also from the fact that the hard core of WLM is so small that they even have to organize their own solidarity campaign.
