Kevin Nuijten, a Dutch parliamentary candidate for the Conservative JA21 party, was briefly detained during a live political debate in the city of Tilburg in the southern province of North Brabantafter being confused with the notorious “vegan streaker” Peter Janssen.
The incident occurred during the Debat van het Zuiden (Debate of the South), streamed live on TV on the evening of October 25. Security agents, acting on a tip-off, escorted Nuijten from the audience, suspecting him to be Janssen, an activist known for disrupting events in scant attire to protest for animal rights.
The confusion stemmed from a report sent to the Royal and Diplomatic Security Service, which suggested Nuijten was a “100 per cent match” for Janssen, who had recently gatecrashed a live broadcast of a talk show, shouting about animal rights while wearing little more than black briefs.
Nuijten, a member of the Provincial Council in Brabant and number 19 on JA21’s candidate list for the national elections, was escorted to a police van where he spent approximately 15 minutes convincing officers of his identity.
His removal was caught on camera and shared on X.
Opmerkelijk: bij Debat van het Zuiden halen beveiligers een man uit het publiek die lijkt op de vegan streaker (die deze week talkshow Eva verstoorde). Maar het blijkt een kandidaat-Kamerlid van JA21, Kevin Nuijten. Na uitgebreide controle mag ie weer terug in de zaal. pic.twitter.com/WOZLvCepoz
— Peter Winterman (@PeterNieuwsuur) October 25, 2025
“I explained that I’m a provincial representative for JA21 in Brabant and told them to google my name,” Nuijten said through a party spokesperson.
“It quickly became clear they had the wrong person.”
Far from being rattled, Nuijten described the encounter as “funny” and noted having “good conversations” with the police before returning to the debate.
He later used it as part of a campaign video, saying it was an honest mistake but it underscored the importance of security and the need for more police visibility on the street, more money for police officers and more respect for all.
Then he jokingly called to vote for “the vegan streaker” under the hastag “FreeKevin”.
Omroep Brabant, the host broadcaster, later apologised, offering Nuijten a beer and a branded scarf as a gesture of goodwill.
Janssen is a controversial figure in the Netherlands, infamous for his provocative stunts, including releasing 2,500 minks from a breeder in 2009, for which he served a prison sentence, and an arson attack on a slaughterhouse, leading to further jail time.
His disruption of the Eva Jinek TV talk show, Jinek, on October 23 involved sneaking past security under a false name.
Gisterenavond was ik aanwezig bij de uitzending van Eva Jinek. In 2017 zat ik als gast aan tafel nu vroeg ik 1 minuut spreektijd voor de dieren omdat het in verkiezingstijd alleen over mensen thema's gaat,terwijl er in de #slachthuizen alleen al per dag 1,7 dieren worden vermoord pic.twitter.com/nF6BXU4dYl
— Peter x Janssen (@VeganStreaker85) October 24, 2025
