The Hilversum YouTuber Bradley van Dijk has been harassed and threatened for two years by a group of ‘pedo hunters’. Last weekend, a group of five hundred men threatened to visit him at home. With a ‘Project X’-like meeting they wanted to chase him in various places in Hilversum. Police kept a close eye on the situation on Saturday. An atmospheric report.
“It’s almost time! More than 500 people have registered. Project X in Hilversum. Saturday, 8 pm Anemonestraat!”
Rumors have been buzzing for two weeks now. A group of ‘pedo hunters’ would gather in front of the home of the mother of Bradley van Dijk, or The Bradge, a YouTuber, who is accused of pedosexual tendencies by the Looij cartel, as the pedo hunters call themselves.
The communication of the pedo hunters on Telegram shows that they accuse Van Dijk of stalking several underage girls. For two years now, Van Dijk and his family have been followed and threatened and harassed via the internet. This meeting was supposed to be the height of intimidation.
Police cars
Around eight o’clock, two enforcers cycle through the neighborhood. A police car with two security guards is clearly visible in front of the house in Anemonestraat, a helicopter flies overhead. A number of neighbors are in the front garden.
Of the more than 7,000 people who are kept informed several times a day via the Telegram channel of the Looijcartel about the threats against The Bradge, hundreds of people have registered to come to the ‘event’. The intention of the pedophile hunters is to walk with hundreds through Hilversum from the Anemonestraat to three other locations where family members of Van Dijk live.
Waylaid
It remains calm. The five hundred people who were supposed to come don’t show their faces. But it is not completely silent.
In the middle of the night, the group makes something of itself. The group says that they have “emptied the azc”. They are referring to a self-initiated ‘advertising bombardment’. Numerous expensive goods are offered at bargain prices on Facebook and Marktplaats, for example a brand new iPhone for 100 euros. People with a small wallet react en masse and are invited to pick up the device at Anemonestraat.
No one is home at the address, but the group pretends to be a frightened single person online and invites the buyer to take selfies: “Send a photo and I dare to open the door”, it sounds. Of course they do this. Don’t let such a cheap phone pass you by. Screaming with fun, the photos are shared on the channel.
Past bullying
“Pedophile, abuser!”, “Ambitionless Wajonger!”, “Child lure Bradley!”. For more than two years, 32-year-old Van Dijk has been attacked online by people who take offense to his videos on YouTube. Videos where he drives around in his car, reviews the food he ate or goes live and talks about his life. Viewers are then allowed to ask him questions which he answers.
With three thousand subscribers, the YouTuber does not have a large channel, but the reactions he provokes are impressive. He is under serious threat. Today: “I hope that fat guy dies soon” or “Go offline, work on yourself in peace and come back when you finally have a job or daytime activity and have lost weight. Otherwise we will kill you and the people who help you in. The whole of the Netherlands pukes you up.”
His family, but also their neighbors are victims. They get unsuspecting buyers at the door, delivery people of food that they have not ordered, but also threats, verbal abuse and vandalism. Windows sprayed with paint and graffiti on the walls. The pedo hunters call each other ‘warriors’ and trump each other in the best way to harass and threaten.
The police are aware of the situation, but do not want to comment further. Bradley himself indicates that he will not be silenced and continues with the videos on YouTube. On Saturday he was in a hiding place, just like his family members: “It has been going on for years now and it just won’t stop. We are powerless. The windows of my car were smashed again. It just goes on and the perpetrators are not caught. ” According to him, the allegations about his alleged pedosexuality and that he is a convicted sex offender are nonsense: “My criminal record is blank!”