Poland: Arrest in Alleged Plot against PM, Defense Minister

By Staff, Agencies 

Polish police have arrested a man suspected of plotting an attack against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, as authorities investigate threats against the country’s senior leadership.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Galecka told AFP on Sunday that the suspect had been detained and searches were continuing at his home. "Information about this man will of course then be verified by the police," she said.

Tusk confirmed the arrest in a post on X, writing: "The man threatening an attack has been detained," while praising police for their "swift and decisive action".

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski told public broadcaster TVP Info that the suspect was in his 60s and had been arrested in the southwestern region of Lower Silesia.

"The services got to him through a thorough analysis of content posted online," Kierwinski said, adding that the man’s "contacts and his activity on the internet are being examined".

The arrest follows a Sunday warning from Poland’s Interior Ministry that Tusk and Kosiniak-Kamysz may have been targeted in an alleged assassination plot. Police had reportedly been alerted by the State Protection Service [SOP] after information emerged about a potential threat against the two officials.

Representatives of the police, SOP, and Internal Security Agency met on Sunday to discuss the case.

"We are treating this matter as deadly serious," Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesperson for the minister-coordinator of special services, told reporters after the meeting. He said threats against Polish officials had become increasingly common, adding that in this case there was "a strong likelihood" they could have been carried out.

Authorities have not disclosed the precise nature of the alleged plot or announced any charges against the suspect.

The investigation unfolds as Poland responds to a series of violent incidents. Tusk condemned multiple stabbing attacks reported over the preceding week as a "cult of violence".

Police said Sunday that nearly 64,000 institutions had been inspected and 117 people detained following violent incidents on school grounds.