Teenagers urging each other to riot in Eindhoven, The Hague, Maastricht this weekend

Messages are circulating among teenagers on Telegram and Snapchat urging each other to riot in several Dutch cities this weekend, including Maastricht, The Hague, and Eindhoven, AD discovered. The police are aware of the messages and are monitoring the situation.

Due to “the nature of the messages,” all the secondary schools in Maastricht have sent a letter to parents to alert them, a spokesperson for the Limburg Secondary Education Board told the newspaper. “Reports reached the schools from various sources - students and staff alike. These were brought to the attention of the principals, who subsequently decided to inform the parents.”

“Messages are currently circulating on social media calling on young people to gather in Maastricht and other Dutch cities,” the letter reads. “Some of these messages mention the possibility of unrest, vandalism, and looting.”

“At this moment, it is unclear whether these calls will actually lead to any unrest,” the principals wrote. “However, young people might decide to go and take a look - out of curiosity or because of peer pressure - without fully realizing what kind of situation they could end up in.”

The Limburg schools urged parents to talk to their children. "Explain to them that what might seem like an innocent decision—'just going to take a look'—could land them in a situation that has the potential to escalate rapidly."

A school in Eindhoven also warned parents about potential unrest in a letter circulating on social media. The letter references riots that took place in France last week, involving large-scale looting.

According to the newspaper, serious threats are also circulating involving violence in The Hague and Oss. There’s also a call to protest on Dam Square in Amsterdam. A spokesperson for Mayor Femke Halsema told the Telegraaf that the city is aware of this. “We are seeing a lot of AI-generated messages circulating. But we are preparing thoroughly.”