Prosecutors reclassify Călin Georgescu as accomplice in case of attempted coup in Romania

Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office announced the reclassification of the charges brought against former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu from instigator to accomplice in the “commission of actions against the constitutional order.”

The statement published Monday, August 4, by the General Prosecutor’s Office does not name Georgescu directly, but refers both to the case in which the former presidential hopeful was indicted on February 26, and to the one in which 18 people from the so-called Potra group were indicted, with three currently under arrest.

The group, organized around Foreign Legion mercenary Horatiu Potra, now a wanted fugitive, attempted to organize unrest aimed at overthrowing the government after the presidential elections were annulled in December 2024. They were stopped in traffic before they could reach their target in Bucharest, starting a prolonged investigation.

Initially, prosecutors believed that the far-right politician, who shockingly took first place during the cancelled first round of the 2024 presidential elections, had instigated the mercenaries and had even initiated “an organization of fascist, racist or xenophobic character.”

The reclassification suggests that prosecutors now appear to believe that Călin Georgescu was either used by the Potra group or was aware of its actions. This could matter when the case reaches a court of law, at the moment of individualizing the sentences.

“The case prosecutor within the Criminal Investigation Section of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice has ordered today the reclassification of the legal charges for one of the defendants from the offenses of dissemination of false information and instigation to attempt to commit actions against the constitutional order to the offenses of complicity to attempt to commit actions against the constitutional order and dissemination of false information, in continued form,” the Prosecutor’s Office says in a press release.

Călin Georgescu spent about 30 minutes in front of the prosecutors on Monday, August 4. Dozens of his supporters were present outside the Prosecutor’s Office, along with a significant security deployment by the Gendarmerie. Upon leaving, the politician made statements about the floods in Suceava, where he went over the weekend.