Jump to content

Dries Van Langenhove: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 33: Line 33:
Van Langenhove is the founder and leader of the far-right [[Flemish Movement|Flemish nationalist]] youth organization ''{{interlanguage link|Schild & Vrienden|nl}}''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vijftien huiszoekingen in onderzoek naar Schild & Vrienden |url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20180919_03765367 |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=De Standaard |language=nl}}</ref>''
Van Langenhove is the founder and leader of the far-right [[Flemish Movement|Flemish nationalist]] youth organization ''{{interlanguage link|Schild & Vrienden|nl}}''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vijftien huiszoekingen in onderzoek naar Schild & Vrienden |url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20180919_03765367 |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=De Standaard |language=nl}}</ref>''


From 2019 to 2023, Van Langenhove seated as an "independent member" of the Vlaams Belang faction in the [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web |title=De val van een selfmade rechtse apostel |url=https://www.tijd.be/politiek-economie/belgie/vlaanderen/de-val-van-een-selfmade-rechtse-apostel/10047192.html |website=De Tijd}}</ref>
From 2019 to 2023, Van Langenhove seated as an "independent member" of the Vlaams Belang [[Parliamentary group|fraction]] in the [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web |title=De val van een selfmade rechtse apostel |url=https://www.tijd.be/politiek-economie/belgie/vlaanderen/de-val-van-een-selfmade-rechtse-apostel/10047192.html |website=De Tijd}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 10:58, 20 April 2023

Dries Van Langenhove
Member of the Chamber of Representatives
In office
20 June 2019 – 4 February 2023
ConstituencyFlemish Brabant
Personal details
Born
Dries Van Langenhove

(1993-05-11) 11 May 1993 (age 31)
Dendermonde, Belgium
Political partyVlaams Belang[a]
Alma materGhent University

Dries Van Langenhove (born 11 May, 1993) is a Belgian far-right political activist.

Van Langenhove is the founder and leader of the far-right Flemish nationalist youth organization Schild & Vrienden [nl].[1]

From 2019 to 2023, Van Langenhove seated as an "independent member" of the Vlaams Belang fraction in the Chamber of Representatives.[2]

Early life

Van Langenhove was born in Dendermonde and grew up in Opwijk. He initially started studying political science at Ghent University. Meanwhile, he trained as a plumber. After obtaining his bachelor degree, he began studying law at the same university.[3][4]

Politics

Van Langenhove was active in the Conservative and Flemish nationalist student fraternity Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond. When a lecture by State Secretary Theo Francken at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel was cancelled in 2017 after left-wing protesters disrupted the event, Van Langenhove mobilized supporters from an internet group to organize further Theo Francken events.[5] Until August 2017 he wrote about migration and integration for the conservative website SCEPTR .[6]

Along with Vlaams Belang Jongeren and the NSV he helped to organise a demonstration in Brussels against the UN Global Compact on Migration. In 2018, he also led a counter-demonstration alongside YouTube commentator Lauren Southern. Van Langenhove and Schild en Vrienden members disrupted pro-immigration activists at Gravensteen castle calling for more humane refugee policies. The counter-demonstration was filmed and posted on Facebook.[7]

In 2019, Van Langenhove announced he was to stand as an independent MP for the Chamber of Representatives in the 2019 Federal election, and it was later confirmed by Tom Van Grieken that he would run for the Vlaams Belang party (despite not being a full member) and head the VB's list in the Flemish Brabant region. He was elected to the Chamber with 39,295 preference votes.[8][9]

Controversy

In 2017, Van Langenhove set up a youth movement called Schild & Vrienden [nl] which shared right-wing memes and participated in political demonstrations. An investigation by Belgian TV show Pano and journalist Tim Verheyden [nl] found that members of the group were sharing racist, antisemitic and sexist content and memes on secret Facebook and Discord groups. In these groups, Verheyden also encountered posts promoting violence as well as references to Nazi Germany.[10] The group was also investigated under potential breaches of the 1981 anti-racism law.[11] As a result of the investigation Van Langenhove, who denied involvement in sharing content in any of the groups, was temporarily suspended as a student by the university of Ghent.[3]

On January 21, 2021, the public prosecutor's office asked parliament to lift the parliamentary immunity of Van Langenhove due to an investigation into breaching of the anti-racism law, the Belgian Holocaust denial law and weapon law.[12] Van Langenhoven and eight other core members of Schild en Vrienden are to appear in the Ghent court on April 25, 2022.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ Affiliated non-member

References

  1. ^ "Vijftien huiszoekingen in onderzoek naar Schild & Vrienden". De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  2. ^ "De val van een selfmade rechtse apostel". De Tijd.
  3. ^ a b "Dries Van Langenhove wil zitje in Raad van Bestuur UGent terug". Het Laatste Nieuws. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  4. ^ Dries Bervoet (7 January 2018). "De val van een selfmade rechtse apostel". De Tijd. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  5. ^ Jurgen Ceder (11 October 2017). "Praten met Dries Van Langenhove van Schild & Vriendinnen. "Aanstekelijk enthousiasme mag niet verloren gaan."". 't Pallieterke. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Posts van Dries Van Langenhove (gearchiveerd)". SCEPTR. 9 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  7. ^ "De twee gezichten van Schild & Vrienden: rechtse beweging versus geheime groep vol racisme, seksisme en wapens". vrtnws.be (in Dutch). 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  8. ^ Tobias Santens (26 May 2019). "Vlaams Belang grote winnaar van de verkiezingen, partij wordt tweede in Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). VRT Nieuws. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  9. ^ Stefan Grommen (9 January 2019). "Dries Van Langenhove van uiterst rechts Schild & Vriendinnen wordt lijsttrekker voor Vlaams Belang" (in Dutch). VRT NWS. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. ^ An Schoonjans (10 January 2019). "Persbericht - Gent - Onderzoek Schild & Vrienden". Parket Oost-Vlaanderen. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Dries Van Langenhove in verdenking gesteld wegens inbreuken op antiracismewet". De Standaard. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Parket-generaal vraagt opheffing onschendbaarheid Dries Van Langenhove". Het Belang van Limburg. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Raadkamer in Gent behandelt zaak 'Schild & Vrienden' op 25 april". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dries_Van_Langenhove&oldid=1150829737"