Far-Right MEP Braun Charged Over Hanukkah Incident, Others

The prosecutors' statement on Thursday makes clear that Braun is now being charged with new counts, but with the legal descriptions of two of the charges updated. The charges are based on a series of incidents in recent years that have drawn national and international criticism.

Charges Range From Disturbing Religious Services to Property Destruction and Public Insult
Two charges stem from a December 2023 incident in which Braun used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles that had been lit during a ceremony in the Sejm, Poland's lower house. He is charged with publicly insulting a religious group and with deliberately disrupting a religious service.

Other accusations are said to feature Braun's interrupting of a Holocaust lecture at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw, during which he is said to have damaged electronic devices before refusing to leave. He has also been accused of cutting up and disposing of a Christmas tree outside a Kraków court.

Another two charges took place in 2022, at the National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Braun and a gang of unmasked associates stormed into a meeting and insulted the head of the Institute, Łukasz Szumowski. Braun is charged with making up the allegation involving alcohol consumption on the job, which prosecutors argue damaged Szumowski's reputation.

Thursday's questioning was the legal formality prior to formal charges, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar said. He added that Braun's actions had not gone unnoticed and were being dealt with within the legal system.

Antisemitism Allegations Under Separate Investigation
In addition to the charges, Braun is also currently under investigation for suspected hate speech for comments he had made during a presidential debate on April 28. In the debate, published by Onet, Braun asked, "Do Jews have too much, too much to say in Polish politics?" Comments that prosecutors say may amount to incitement to hatred and antisemitism.

Braun ran in Poland's recent presidential election, and while he was seen as a fringe candidate, he placed fourth — a result that fed fears about increasing sympathy for far-right ideologies.

Braun refutes all allegations and cites specific reasons during prior questioning in 2023 and 2024.