On March 12, 2024, Hans Teeuwen posted a satirical video mocking Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam. In the video, an object, vaguely appearing to be a pistol, was on a table next to Teeuwen. Within three hours, six policemen appeared at Teeuwen’s door.
Here is a link to the YouTube video of the police arrival and the original video skit. The skit mocks Mayor Halsema. The inclusion of the air pistol was likely to bring attention to how Halsema, her husband, and her son were treated in an incident involving a pistol owned by her husband and criminally misused by the son.
Teeuwne let the police in. They seized the object. AmmoLand noted the object was probably a Webley air pistol. This supposition was later confirmed.
A commenter on AmmoLand recently asked: what happened to the case?
The original incident received considerable attention and outrage. The resolution of the incident did not receive as much attention. On March 15, 2024, Hans Teeuwen was informed he could pick up the air pistol. No charges were brought against him.
An English-language version of an article about the incident was found. From world-today-journal.com:
Amsterdam – Hans Teeuwen will receive the gun back on Friday that the police took during a raid on his house on Tuesday. The comedian announced this on Wednesday. A group of six officers arrived at Teeuwen’s home after he posted a video online showing the air pistol.
“I just got a call and I can come by on Friday and I will get the weapon back,” said the artist. According to Teeuwen, there are no charges against him: “As far as I am concerned, the matter is closed. Although I’m considering turning it into a carnival hit, “I got my air rifle back.” That should be a cracker.”
The police said on Wednesday that the suspicion against Teeuwen has been withdrawn and that he will not be prosecuted. The police do not want to comment now on the question of what kind of weapon it was. First, Teeuwen receives an explanation of what is going on.
Ridicule is a potent political weapon. Femke Halsema faced ridicule for the heavy-handed way the police raided Hans Teeuwen’s home over what was a legally owned air gun. Air guns can be purchased without any special license in Dutch shops.
Much international news is missed because of language barriers. While the incident occurred over nine months ago, AmmoLand readers deserve to know how it was resolved.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
