“This is the result of fueling a spiral of hatred toward President Karol Nawrocki, an attempt to undermine this presidency and the president’s position from the very first days,” said Paweł Szefernaker, Chief of Staff to the President of Poland, on Saturday. He was commenting on the threat made against the head of state during Friday’s Poland–Netherlands match.
On Friday, threats targeting President Karol Nawrocki appeared on the X platform. They surfaced immediately after the Polish Football Association (PZPN) announced that the head of state would attend the Poland–Netherlands match. A user going by “bucc,” who runs a profile under the #silnirazem hashtag—a label used by individuals supporting the ruling coalition online—posted a message reading “see you, Karolek,” along with a photo showing a handgun.
Other users on X immediately stressed that the authorities needed to intervene. On Saturday morning, the police issued a statement confirming that they had taken action in the case. The user responsible for the threats has already deleted their profile, which may indicate that they understand the seriousness of what they did.
“This Is the Result of Fueling a Spiral of Hatred”
Speaking to the portal wp.pl, Paweł Szefernaker addressed the matter, emphasizing that this is not the first such incident and that there have already been numerous threats directed at Nawrocki. “This is the result of fueling a spiral of hatred toward the president […] an attempt to undermine this presidency and the president’s position from the very first days,” he said.
He noted that the “Silni Razem” group is a “main hub” of efforts to undermine Nawrocki’s presidency. “This shows where this politics of hate leads,” he added. Despite the threats, he stressed, the president remains “resolute and determined” and will continue to lead an active presidency, just as he promised the Polish people.
“As for the formal aspects, all relevant procedures have been initiated. The State Protection Service, which is responsible for the president’s security, has reported the matter to the appropriate agencies—to the police and to the Internal Security Agency. Proceedings are now under way within these services, and we are awaiting the results,” he said.
A Day of Attacks
It is worth noting that the “politics of hate” mentioned by Szefernaker was particularly visible yesterday, marking the 100th day of Nawrocki’s presidency. Throughout the day, the official account of the Civic Coalition published graphics and posts attacking the president.
Returning to the scandalous post by the user “bucc,” which is clearly a criminal threat: under the law, anyone who threatens another person with committing a crime to their detriment or to the detriment of someone close to them—if the threat causes the targeted person to reasonably fear it will be carried out—faces a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.