Belgian-Moroccan Wedding Turns Violent in Antwerp, Leaving Far-Right Politician Injured

The celebration took an unexpected turn in Antwerp’s Grand Place on Friday, October 9, shortly before noon. Gathered in front of city hall to celebrate a wedding, members of a Belgian-Moroccan family found themselves at the center of a violent altercation with Filip Dewinter and Anke Van dermeersch, two prominent figures in Vlaams Belang, the Flemish far-right party. According to guests, the dispute began over a camera and their refusal to be filmed.

“Anke Van dermeersch wanted to film us, but we didn’t want her to,” a family member told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN). The discussion allegedly quickly escalated. Relatives say the politician eventually hit the bride’s mother. Van dermeersch categorically denies the accusation.

Filip Dewinter, who arrived in the meantime to attend a meeting at city hall, says he was recognized and then confronted by several people. “A fairly burly man chased me up the stairs and hit me several times,” he said. The politician says he was struck and bled from his eyebrow. He also maintains that his colleague did not assault anyone.

Moroccan family disputes politicians’ account

Antwerp police confirmed that a physical confrontation took place, but did not publicly establish who started it. Spokesperson Kim Bastiaens said shoving began when Dewinter tried to cross through the group to enter city hall. Anke Van dermeersch then also became involved in an altercation with a woman.

Several rapid-response unit teams were sent to the scene. Two people from the family group were checked, and Filip Dewinter suffered a minor head injury. Contrary to initial reports, the two politicians were not arrested.

Videos of the incident shared on social media fueled the controversy. Dewinter says the footage proves he was assaulted. Van dermeersch, for her part, says she only began filming after the violence started and has called for the city hall surveillance footage to be reviewed.

But the Belgian-Moroccan family sees things differently. “Ms. Van dermeersch struck my mother hard in the face,” a relative of the bride told HLN in a second account. Guests believe the videos that have been shared show only part of the altercation and do not make it possible to understand what happened before Dewinter arrived.

The case is now expected to move to the courts. A lawyer for a family member involved in the confrontation announced plans to file a complaint on Monday, October 12. Filip Dewinter, for his part, gave a statement to police. City hall surveillance footage could help investigators reconstruct exactly what happened.