Potra, messages inciting violence after Georgescu’s candidacy rejection

Horaţiu Potra, wanted for attempted acts against the constitutional order, failure to comply with the arms and ammunition regime and failure to comply with the explosives regime, a close associate of Călin Georgescu, sent, after the Central Electoral Bureau’s decision to reject Georgescu’s candidacy for the presidential elections, two messages inciting violence. In the most recent, an audio message, addressed to the Romanian military, Potra asks them to take up arms and arrest “all those who carried out the coup d’état”.

On Sunday evening, when violence was taking place in front of the BEC headquarters, with gendarmes being attacked with stones and street furniture being set on fire, Potra released a message on a WhatsApp group saying that “the coup d’état by the globalists continues!” and that “now all of Romania must boil”, asking those who fought in Congo to defend democracy “by any means”.

“Call your colleagues, friends and fight boys!!! Here we fight for our country, not for another country!!! You will be the future democratic body of the Romanian Army! If we are not able to do something, who will? Go out to your cities, go to Bucharest, with your pitchfork, your scythe and your axe”, was Horaţiu Potra’s message.

Antena 3 made public an audio message from Potra on Monday, addressed to the Romanian military “who swore to defend their homeland and their people”.

“Come out now, come out with your weapons and arrest all those who carried out the coup, absolutely all of them. Arrest them all and if your generals try to stop you, arrest them too. Shame on those generals who have done nothing up until now and accepted the coup. Come out, Romanian soldiers, respect your oath. You are not alone, the people are with you,” is the message conveyed by Potra, according to the cited source.

False information on social networks

In a press conference on Monday, representatives of the Gendarmerie and the Police stated, regarding the images distributed online by Horațiu Potra, with an intervention by the gendarmes, that they were made three years ago, when the gendarmes intervened after violence committed between two football galleries. Octavian Dan, spokesperson for the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police:

“Through you, the media representatives, we draw the public’s attention to some false information that is being spread on social networks. For example, a person who is evading criminal prosecution, being pursued, posted a video on social media with an intervention by his gendarme colleagues and stated that it was from last night. In fact, that video clip was made three years ago and captures an intervention by the gendarmes to restore public order, after violence committed between two football galleries. We appeal to citizens to obtain information only from official sources, given the calls of the person in question to violent demonstrations, the police have drawn up a criminal case regarding the commission of the crime of public incitement”.

13 gendarmes injured in clashes with Georgescu supporters

More than 500 people who participated in the violent protest on Sunday evening in Bucharest, after the rejection of Călin Georgescu’s candidacy by the BEC, have been legitimized. 13 gendarmes were injured, and four of them are in hospital, announced representatives of the Police and Gendarmerie.

Criminal charges have been filed for 11 crimes, including the overturning of a Digi24 car. Police are appealing to the media and business owners in the area to provide them with surveillance camera images, which will help them identify the aggressors.

“Up to this time, over 500 people have been identified in the protest area, and based on the operational and public video footage, the people who committed antisocial acts last night are to be identified and prosecuted,” Gendarmerie representatives said in a press conference on Monday. According to them, as a result of the violence, 13 gendarmes were injured.

“Four of them are still hospitalized, requiring additional care. Also, up to this point, the gendarmes have drawn up three acts of notification to the criminal investigation bodies in terms of the commission of 11 criminal acts,” Gendarmerie representatives also reported.

These are four acts of outrage, with four perpetrators, four acts of disturbing public order and peace, with four perpetrators, and three acts of destruction, with three perpetrators.

In the same context, eight minor offenses were imposed, amounting to 3,200 lei. “It is regrettable and worrying how some people understood to exercise their right to free expression and decided to provoke such violence, while also destroying part of the environment in the Historical Center of the Capital: windows of some commercial companies, destruction of street furniture and pedestrian pavement, burning of garbage bins. Also, a car belonging to a television station was damaged.

Following this situation, police officers from the General Police Directorate of Bucharest Municipality have drawn up, ex officio, a criminal investigation file, in terms of committing the crime of destruction”, the Gendarmerie also reported.

“The right to free expression is a fundamental right of every citizen, but it must be exercised within the limits of the law and with respect for public order and safety. In this way, we appeal to representatives of the media, civil society and commercial agents in the area to support us by providing images from the public space that will help us identify all the people who committed illegal acts”, the Gendarmerie also transmitted.