Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on October 11 that a man accused of plotting an assassination attack against him and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz had been detained, thanking police for their "swift and decisive action" [1][3][7]. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirmed the arrest, stating that the man who threatened and planned an attack on the prime minister had been detained by Polish police [18][30]. The detention followed an emergency meeting of Poland's security services at the ABW internal security agency's anti-terrorism centre, convened after police received information about a possible assassination plot [2][17].
Special services spokesman Jacek Dobrzyński said authorities assessed the probability that the threats would be carried out as very high and that they were treating the matter as "deadly serious" [3][4][14]. Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said Tusk was informed around 7 a.m. and that the signal was more disturbing than previous ones the services had received [6][10][14][20]. Dobrzyński told RFI that while such reports arrive by the dozens or hundreds every day, « Or, ici, l'affaire est très grave et solidement étayée par nos agents » (in this case the matter is very grave and solidly supported by our agents) [12]. Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Gałecka said the plan was uncovered when an email with information about the potential attack was forwarded to police by the State Protection Service [3][25].
Kierwiński told TVP Info that the suspect was a man in his 60s arrested in Lower Silesia, found through analysis of content posted online, and that it was too early to claim a foreign angle [4][14]. The interior minister described the suspect as someone from very radical groups with radical online contacts [14][30]. Polish media, citing Gazeta Wyborcza, attributed the threat to "right-wing extremists" who were Polish nationals and reported that the email to the State Protection Service contained the officials' addresses and upcoming travel plans [10][11][12][33].
The announcement was reported against the backdrop of a broader wave of violence in Poland: Tusk characterized recent school knife attacks — three in four days, leaving at least one dead — as "spontaneous" nihilistic violence fuelled by online glorification rather than organized political violence [5][19][26]. The prime minister said 117 people had been detained over knives or threats during a crackdown in which nearly 64,000 institutions were inspected, and acknowledged that some detainees were active in the ultraright environment [4][5][19].
Ukrainian, German, French and Brussels-based coverage placed the threat against the backdrop of Russia's hybrid operations on NATO's eastern flank [12][14][20][22][27]. RFE/RL's Ukrainian service cited Financial Times reporting that Russia had stepped up plans to assassinate European defence-company executives [20], while AP noted Tusk's own September warning about Russian hybrid attacks on the alliance's eastern flank [24]. RFI reported that possible Russian involvement had "neither been officially raised nor ruled out" [12]. Kierwiński stated that it was too early to speak of foreign involvement [14].
UK outlet Witness News, in a report not corroborated by other coverage, named the suspect as Roman J. and cited the prosecution stating he was tasked with collecting security details at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, a hub for aid deliveries to Ukraine, facing a charge carrying up to eight years [28].
Polish opposition parties framed the government's announcement as panic-mongering and a political diversion [29]. PiS Senator Stanisław Karczewski accused the government of « Na sianie paniki » (sowing panic) and predicted it would eventually claim elections could not be held for security reasons [29]. PiS MP Andrzej Śliwka called the public statement « brzmi jak krzyk rozpaczy i przejaw paniki » (sounds like a cry of despair and a manifestation of panic) [29], while Konfederacja leader Sławomir Mentzen said that with email death threats, « nie da się z tym nic zrobić » (nothing can be done about it) [29]. PiS MP Bartłomiej Wróblewski said the matter was serious but pivoted to asking whether Tusk would apologize over the separate Kołodziejczak affair [29]. Russian state agency RIA Novosti framed the episode as a scandal, with a headline asserting that panic was being sown in Poland [34].
Former police spokesman Mariusz Sokołowski questioned why the information was publicized, asking « dlaczego to zostało upublicznione w ten sposób, dlaczego w tym czasie » (why this was made public in this way, why at this time), and warned it should not be purely a political element [31]. Security expert Maciej Karwas of the University of Silesia said he could not recall services disclosing a threat at such an early stage [31]. Former intelligence officer Grzegorz Małecki called the government's conduct irrational, saying it was « wzmagając chaos i prowokując spekulacje » (magnifying chaos and provoking speculation) [32]. Dobrzyński dismissed these critics as "pseudo-experts" and reiterated that the matter was deadly serious [10][32].
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš offered investigative assistance, saying Czech intelligence services remained in contact with Polish counterparts and would provide support if requested [30]. Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski that he was « Cieszę się, że Polacy mają całą sprawę pod kontrolą » (glad the Poles have the whole matter under control) and offered help if needed [30]. Searches were continuing at the suspect's home, and Gałecka said information about the man would be verified by police [4].