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Far-right MEP banned from Polish parliament over LGBT display vandalism

12.06.2025 11:11
Far-right MEP Grzegorz Braun has been barred from the Polish parliament after vandalising an LGBT exhibition in the lower house, the Sejm, its Speaker has announced.
Polish far-right politician Grzegorz Braun.
Polish far-right politician Grzegorz Braun.Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

The incident took place on Wednesday, when Braun tore down display boards from an LGBT-themed exhibition created by Tęczowe Opole (Rainbow Opole), an NGO that promotes gay and lesbian rights.

A video posted by conservative MP Anita Czerwińska shows Braun methodically dismantling the boards, dropping them to the floor and bending them in half, as cameras and parliamentary guards look on.

Speaker Szymon Hołownia said there was “no place for hooligans in the Sejm,” and announced that Braun had been escorted out by security and banned from the building.

He added that he had revised security protocols, allowing guards to use physical force to prevent property damage, "even against lawmakers with immunity."

Hołownia also referenced a previous incident from late 2023, when the Sejm lifted Braun’s immunity following an antisemitic stunt involving a fire extinguisher.

“I hope the indictment in that case will finally reach the court,” he said.

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, a former parliamentary Speaker, questioned the response from security.

Writing on X, he said: “As a former Speaker of the Sejm, I do not understand why parliament security guards once again failed to detain ... Braun in the act of destroying private property.”

Braun has been involved in several high-profile incidents in recent years, including extinguishing Hanukkah candles in Poland's parliament with a fire extinguisher in 2023 and attempting a "citizen's arrest" of a doctor performing a legal abortion earlier this year.

(mp/gs)

Source: PAP/X/@szymon_holownia/@A__Czerwinska/@sikorskiradek


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