Keep our news free from ads and paywalls by making a donation to support our work!
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
A 66-year-old Polish man has been charged with planning an attack on Prime Minister Donald Tusk as part of an attempt to overthrow the government. A search of his home revealed improvised explosive devices that he allegedly planned to use in the plot.
The suspect, who can be named only as Krzysztof N. under Polish privacy law, has also been charged with a number of other offences, including promoting a war of aggression in Ukraine and inciting hate crimes. Media reports have identified the man as a radical-right extremist.
Do Prokuratury Okręgowej w Warszawie został doprowadzony 66-letni Krzysztof N., zatrzymany w związku z planowaniem zamachu na @donaldtusk i @KosiniakKamysz ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/rjcR3rNvyW
— tvp.info 🇵🇱 (@tvp_info) October 13, 2026
On Sunday, Poland’s security services announced that they had received what they described as “credible” information indicating a “high probability” of an assassination attempt against Tusk and his defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Later that day, a 66-year-old suspect was detained in the city of Wrocław, southwest Poland, and his property was searched. Interior minister Marcin Kierwiński told broadcaster TVP that the man was “very active in groups promoting extreme views”.
On Tuesday, the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw, where Krzysztof N. has been transported, announced that he had been charged with nine offences.
“The most serious charge is for planning to forcibly overthrow state authorities, including the prime minister and cabinet, using explosives,” said spokesman Piotr Antoni Skiba. That crime carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Skiba revealed that “a dozen or so” improvised explosive devices, which appeared to be similar to fragmentation grenades, had been found in the man’s home. There was also a crossbow, sharp-tipped metal bolts, and what are believed to be blank-firing or pneumatic guns.
Skiba said that Krzysztof N.’s plans had been discovered after an anonymous person sent a message to the State Protection Service (SOP), which is responsible for the security of high-ranking officials, that included a recording of a conversation purportedly with the suspect.
Krzysztof N. could be heard claiming that he had gathered “sevel hundred people” who shared his ideological beliefs and would help him overthrown the Polish government by force.
At the moment, there is no indication that Krzysztof N. or the group around him were inspired in any way by foreign intelligence agencies, but the issue is still being investigated, added Skiba, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Poland’s security services say they have received “credible” information indicating a “high probability” of an assassination attempt against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz https://t.co/zl3vt6mah3
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 11, 2026
Among the other charges Krzysztof N. has heard are “promoting a war of aggression, including in Ukraine, as well as incitement to commit crimes based on nationality, ethnicity, race and political views”, added Skiba. The suspect has so far pleaded not guilty on all counts.
On Monday, Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading daily, reported that Krzysztof N. had for months been posting videos online calling on fellow right-wing extremists to fight against the authorities. He also expressed antisemitic and anti-Ukrainian sentiment.
Another newspaper, Rzeczpospolita, found that he runs a Facebook page called Radical Polish Resistance Movement that has almost 8,000 followers and claims Poland’s two main political parties – Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and the national-conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) – are “in the hands of globalists and Judeo-communists”.
"Patriota do przesady". Kim jest Krzysztof N., Wrocławianin podejrzewany przez służby o planowanie zamachu na premiera Tuska
Mężczyzna, który miał planować zamach na premiera Donalda Tuska Od kilku miesięcy nagrywał w mediach społecznościowych filmiki i skrzykiwał prawicowych…
— Bartosz T. Wieliński 🇵🇱🇪🇺🇺🇦🇬🇱 (@Bart_Wielinski) October 12, 2026
In a separate case, government spokesman Adam Szłapka announced on Tuesday that a 46-year-old man in the town of Oborniki in western Poland had been detained on suspicion of publicly calling for the murder of Tusk and the speaker of parliament, Włodzimierz Czarzasty.
A spokeswoman for the district prosecutor’s office in Oborniki told PAP that the man had been charged with inciting murder, for which he could face up to three years in prison.
“He admitted to publishing content insulting various government officials, but denied the charge of inciting their murder,” she revealed. “He expressed regret and remorse.”
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: KPRM/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)