Dutch government: Child in video Trump shared wasn’t a ‘migrant’
Dutch officials said Wednesday that the “Muslim migrant” in one of the controversial videos President Trump tweeted out was, in fact, born and raised in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Embassy tweeted directly at Trump, saying that the person in the video was punished for his violent actions under Dutch law.
“Facts do matter,” the embassy tweeted at Trump. “The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law.”
.@realDonaldTrump Facts do matter. The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law.
— Netherlands Embassy (@NLintheUSA) November 29, 2017
CNN’s Jim Scuitto tweeted that the Dutch prosecutor’s office also said the young man in the video was not a “migrant.”
The minor in the video retweeted by Trump is not a ‘migrant’, Dutch Prosecutor’s Office says. He was born and raised in the Netherlands. He was punished under a special sentencing program for juveniles.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) November 29, 2017
{mosads}
Early Wednesday morning, Trump retweeted three videos from the leader of a British ultranationalist group, purporting to show Muslims committing violent acts.
The video in question showed a young man beating up another on crutches, with the caption, “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!”
VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches! pic.twitter.com/11LgbfFJDq
— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) November 28, 2017
British and Muslim leaders slammed the retweets, with Prime Minister Theresa May calling Trump’s move “wrong.”
The U.K. leader who originally tweeted the clips was found guilty last year of verbally abusing a woman wearing a hijab, and was recently arrested over a speech she made at a Northern Ireland rally.
The White House defended Trump’s tweets, saying that it doesn’t matter if the videos themselves are real, “the threat is real and that is what the president is talking about.”
Updated: 3:46 p.m.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.