Last week, CounterJihad reported on suggestions that the FBI may have “egged on” jihadist killers who attacked a free speech protest in Garland, Texas.  The attackers were shot dead at the scene by a heroic off-duty traffic policeman.  The reports of FBI interaction with them were made public during a related trial of an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) recruiter, one Erick Hendricks.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch “Party for Freedom” political party, has demanded that his government pursue answers from the United States on this case.  The Dutch are interested because of similar killings by jihadists opposed to Western norms of free speech both in their country and in neighboring France.

Geert Wilders is demanding clarification from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on this matter. He wants to know whether it is true that an FBI agent contacted one of the terrorists and possibly egged him on. He also wants to know whether the American authorities passed FBI information on to the Dutch authorities. “If so when, and what was done with this information? If not, why not?”

“Are you prepared to ask the US immediately for clarification on these reports? If not, why not?” Wilders writes on his website. “Are you prepared to answer these questions this week?”

So far the Dutch Prime Minister has not responded to the inquiry.  Nevertheless, the matter is likely to be of great interest internationally.  The Netherlands has seen explosive growth in jihadist elements.  Research by the Motivaction group reveals that 80% of Turks in the Netherlands support the practice of jihad in order to spread Islam.  The horrifying Paris attacks of last year provoked emergency meetings of Dutch ministers, and a German-Netherlands football game was canceled due to “concrete” threats of a similar attack targeting it.

European governments depend on the United States to handle a substantial piece of the counter-jihad effort as the European Union lacks genuine intelligence-sharing programs.  In the United States, the Federal government can readily share information with state and local agencies, as well as with partner governments worldwide with whom it has proper agreements.  In Europe, it is often the case that even police agencies cannot talk to each other across national borders.  Even police forces within a nation may not be allowed to talk to each other.

Meanwhile, at the trial of accused ISIS recruiter Erick Hendricks, his attorney and his mother are alike trying to claim that the charges against him are incredible due to the FBI’s use of paid informants to gather evidence.  His mother described him as “patriotic,” and said that the government was trumping up charges against him because of he was a Muslim.

During his detention hearing in Charlotte, Erick Jamal Hendricks sobbed as his attorney attempted to poke holes in the federal government’s allegations that the 35-year-old Arkansas native recruited for the Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL…. Culler argued for 35 minutes that the government lacked probable cause for the case, and that an FBI affidavit cited by prosecutors as grounds for Hendricks’ continued confinement lacked facts and was based on statements from paid informants, some of them with criminal records.

If Hendricks posed such danger to the public, why did the government wait so long to arrest him, Culler asked the judge. “They looked in on him for more than a year, and he’s a threat?”

Cayer, without explanation, ordered that Hendricks remain in custody….

[Hendricks’ mother Lisa] Woods, 62, said he has been singled out because of his religion. “He is a successful African-American Muslim. I feel that’s why it happened, and the rest of them better be ready for it.”

The judge may be motivated by the recent Pulse nightclub shooting, in which the FBI had twice investigated and cleared Omar Mateen, the gunman who went on to murder dozens while pledging allegiance to ISIS.  The FBI also looked into Mateen for a very long time, were unable to prove anything, and yet he still turned out to be a serious danger to the American public.