They had also prepared a list of politicians and journalists as part of an “intimidation operation,” Digi24 reported. Romanian authorities confirmed in a statement that they had “stopped several vehicles in traffic” and confiscated an array of weapons, leading to the questioning of 13 people, but did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Potra’s lawyer said he had been detained on weapons and public incitement charges relating to a Facebook post but denied he had any links to Georgescu. His legal team did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Asked about his links to Potra, Georgescu told a Romanian news program that he had heard of the mercenary but “haven’t met him in person” and denied summoning the armed cadre to Bucharest to disrupt protests.
Romania was plunged into political chaos last week when the Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the presidential election after an alleged Russian operation to influence the result.
Georgescu, a pro-Russia, far-right firebrand and NATO skeptic, came first and was slated to face off against reformist Elena Lasconi in the second round, but the entire election will now be rerun. Georgescu did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
