"Satanic and racist holiday": Indictment against European Parliament member - who extinguished Hanukkah candles
An indictment has been filed against Grzegorz Braun, a far-right member of the European Parliament, for incitement to religious hatred after he called Hanukkah a "satanic and racist holiday" and extinguished Hanukkah candles in the Polish Parliament. He is also charged with imprisoning a gynecologist and damaging property. Braun denied the charges.
An indictment has been filed against Grzegorz Braun, leader of the far-right party "Confederation of the Polish Crown" and a member of the European Parliament. Two of the charges involve incitement to religious hatred following comments he made in a 2023 YouTube interview, where he called Hanukkah a "satanic and racist holiday" - shortly after extinguishing Hanukkah candles in the Polish Parliament with a fire extinguisher. The maximum penalty for these charges is three years in prison. Four additional charges relate to an incident in April 2025, in which Braun is accused of imprisoning a gynecologist at a hospital in Olsztyn, after conducting a "citizen's arrest" on the claim she was involved in an abortion. The doctor did not violate Poland's abortion laws. Another charge is damaging property worth over 5,000 zloty in March 2025, when he sprayed graffiti on an exhibition of the LGBTQ+ community in Opole. Braun denied the charges and claimed he is a victim of a "state lynching." The European Parliament lifted his immunity in November 2025 to allow the indictment to be filed.