Overview

• Eviction operations concluded on October 5 after the vacant monument was reoccupied the previous day.
• The Mobile Unit was deployed, and officers spent hours freeing one person who had fixed a tube into concrete before arresting him.
• Mayor Leendert de Lange said squatting is a criminal offense and pledged strict enforcement as authorities monitor for renewed attempts.
• Owner Ronnie van de Putte, known as “De Krottenkoning,” has long left the property unused despite a 2020 municipal restoration, and the building has stood empty again since 2022.
• Participants framed the occupation as a protest against prolonged vacancy during a housing shortage and referenced the 15-year mark of the anti-squatting law.