Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia revealed in an interview with Polsat News today that he had been repeatedly encouraged to carry out a coup d’état. This shocking statement is stirring widespread political reaction.
“As both a citizen and, even more so, as a public official, it is your duty to file a report with the prosecutor’s office regarding a suspected criminal act,” wrote MP Anna Maria Żukowska. According to Sławomir Cenckiewicz, the incoming head of Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN), “this calls for a prosecutor’s investigation.” Meanwhile, lawyer Bartosz Lewandowski announced that, on behalf of the allegedly aggrieved National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), he has submitted a formal request to the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office for Hołownia to be questioned as a witness.
During an interview conducted by Marcin Fijołek, Szymon Hołownia bluntly stated:
“On multiple occasions, I was offered or it was suggested to me whether I would be willing to carry out a coup.”
He went on to clarify that these suggestions referred to the possibility of blocking or delaying the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected president. Hołownia emphasized that he firmly rejected such proposals.
“But you’re not going to stage a coup with me. As Marshal of the Sejm, I am bound to respect the will of the majority of voters,” he declared.
The leader of Poland 2050 declined to disclose, for now, the names of the individuals who made these far-reaching suggestions, hinting that he might reveal them one day in his memoirs. However, he did explain what he meant by the term “coup d’état” in this specific context.
“Of course, it likely doesn’t meet the legal definition of a coup d’état, but I use the term to describe a situation where a president has been elected, and I say: I don’t like this president, so maybe I won’t swear him in,” the Marshal elaborated.
Hołownia’s revelation is drawing intense reactions online. Among those who responded was MP Anna Maria Żukowska, who stressed that “this is a very serious matter.”
“If you possess knowledge of any preparations for a coup against the constitutional order of the Polish state, then it is your duty—as both a citizen and, even more importantly, a state official—to report it to the prosecutor’s office,” she wrote.
She added that if Hołownia fails to do so, it will mean that “either this was nothing more than rhetorical overreach, or it constitutes a form of blackmail or veiled threat.”
Journalist Piotr Nisztor echoed similar sentiments on social media platform X (formerly Twitter):
“The second-highest official in the country has publicly admitted to being encouraged to commit one of the gravest crimes—a coup. As a public servant, Szymon Hołownia is legally obligated to formally notify law enforcement. Failing to do so is a breach of the law,” he warned.
Sławomir Cenckiewicz concurred, stating that “this is grounds for a criminal investigation, if what the Marshal says is true.”
The matter has also been taken up by Bartosz Lewandowski, who confirmed that on behalf of the KRS, which he described as the aggrieved party, he has filed a request with the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office for Marshal Hołownia to be summoned for questioning as a witness.