The boy, who was twelve years old when he started the plans two years ago, used a group on the Telegram app to initiate his terrorist designs. His plans included setting off a bomb in the Flemish regional parliament in Brussels and attacking a military airbase in Arnhem in the Netherlands. The boy targeted Deelen military airbase, north of Arnhem, carrying out reconnaissance missions with others and sharing maps, screenshots, and videos, according to the court. He also offered to pay €1,500 to plant a bomb outside the Belgian parliament building in Brussels, based on research from three sources.
The court in Leeuwarden sentenced the boy to three months of conditional youth detention, suspended for two years, and ordered him to undergo treatment at a national support center against radicalization. The court ordered the confiscation of the boy's mobile phone. Since the start of the year, the boy has co-operated with an anti-extremism programme, according to the court. He was 'shocked' when arrested, believing he was untraceable on the internet, based on research from three sources.
The boy's plans fell through when the person he approached to carry out the attack on the Belgian parliament did not reply, according to research from three sources. Context for this case emerges from a CeMAS study, which found at least 164 active chat groups attributed to the 'Terrorgram' network. CeMAS experts counted 651 German users in these groups who have sent over 317,000 messages since 2022. According to CeMAS, 83 of these users are 'heavy users', indicating an increased potential for violence.
Terror is the language of the unheard.
One group named 'Terror Wave' had German users with pseudonyms like 'Gestapo Officer' or 'Proud Nationalist', based on research from three sources. Users in 'Terror Wave' shared info on how to make explosives, and the chat has since been taken offline. Since 2021, a hard core group called the 'Terrorgram Collective' has formed in the global Neo-Nazi subculture, according to research from three sources. The 'Terrorgram Collective' produces digital hate-pamphlets of up to 268 pages, with one suspected contributor being a German user. The pamphlets incite readers to blow up bridges and radio towers or provide instructions on building a 'dirty' bomb from radioactive uranium.
In the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, the 'Terrorgram Collective' is classified as a terrorist organization, with some leading figures facing criminal charges, based on research from three sources. A related case involves a 17-year-old from Wisconsin who allegedly killed his mother and stepfather in February 2025 to get money for a planned assassination, according to research from three sources. The 17-year-old from Wisconsin asked for tips in a chat obtained by DER SPIEGEL.
Separately, two 17-year-old boys have been arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of 'state interference' with reported links to Russian spying, according to prosecutors. One of the boys allegedly walked past Europol, Eurojust, and the Canadian embassy in The Hague carrying a 'wi-fi sniffer' device, based on research from three sources. The teenagers appeared before a judge, who ordered one boy remanded in custody and the other placed on strict home bail conditions, according to research from three sources. A hearing is due to take place in the next two weeks.
Implications of these cases raise questions about the effectiveness of treatment programmes for radicalized youth and the monitoring of youth radicalization. Unknowns in this broader context include law enforcement coordination against the Terrorgram Collective across countries and the measures taken by Telegram and other platforms to monitor and remove extremist content, along with the challenges in enforcement.