Anderlecht mayor Cumps files police complaint over threat video

Anderlecht (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Anderlecht Mayor Fabrice Cumps (PS) filed a police complaint after a threatening Good Move protest video, linked to a man who vandalised signs 3 years ago, is under investigation.

As VRT News reported, the mayor of Anderlecht, Fabrice Cumps of the Parti Socialiste, filed a police complaint after a video circulated on social media. The video was considered threatening by the mayor. It targeted both him personally and Anderlecht’s Good Move mobility plan. 

The video includes a scene from the 1987 film “Predator,” showing the character Mac Eliot firing heavy weapons. It also displays the word “enemies” and links directly to the mayor’s Facebook page. 

The slogan “Non au plan de Good Move” (No to the Good Move plan) appears above the clip. The content clearly opposes the plan and singles out the mayor. Mayor Cumps stressed that threats against public officials cannot be ignored. 

What threats did Anderlecht mayor Cumps face over the good move plan?

The mayor of Anderlecht, Fabrice Cumps, called the video shared on social media “extremely violent.” He said the video, combined with the creator’s past actions, justified filing a police complaint. 3 years ago, the same man vandalised several signs promoting the Good Move mobility plan. Those signs were later left at the town hall and at Cumps’s home. 

The creator of the video spoke to La Dernière Heure. He said the video was meant as satire and denied any intention to threaten the mayor. He added that the violent images in the clip were misinterpreted and were intended as political commentary, not a personal attack. 

The Good Move strategy in terms of transportation was created in collaboration with many stakeholders, including local governments, residents and organisations in Brussels over a 3 year period following extensive consultations on transportation planning. 

Good Move was developed following a public consultation process in October 2016, with a series of public opinion surveys and workshops where people could express what they wanted from their transport system and what they wanted to achieve as a community. As part of this process, the City of Anderlecht began to develop a local plan called Move Anderlecht in 2019.