Poland's false alarm crisis: Two arrested, 'Bomber' detained as investigation widens after police raid president's family home

Arrests and charges

Polish police, under the supervision of the Warsaw-Praga District Prosecutor's Office, have arrested two men in connection with a series of false alarms that have shaken the country's political and media landscape. The first suspect was detained on 20 or 21 May — sources differ on the exact date — and faces charges of participating in an organised criminal group and triggering over a dozen false alarms, including several cascading reports to dozens of public entities. The second man, arrested on 24 May, is accused of leading the group and personally taking part in several false reports. Both have been remanded in custody for three months.

One of the suspects was charged with participation in two incidents that took place in May. The charge covers one attack on TV Republika and a report concerning Jarosław Kaczyński's property.

A third person was detained on the evening of 26 May, according to Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński. Unofficial reports identify him as 'Bomber', a 20-year-old previously suspected of involvement in a group responsible for hundreds of false alarms. He has not yet been formally charged in this investigation.

The raid on the president's family home

The most dramatic incident occurred on Saturday evening, 24 May, when emergency services received anonymous reports of a fire and a threat to life at an address in Gdańsk. Police and firefighters forced entry into the apartment, breaking down the door, only to find it empty. The property belonged to the mother of President Karol Nawrocki. The intervention lasted several minutes and ended with the determination that the alarm was false.

First the signals coming from false alarms directed at journalists were ignored. There was mockery and ridicule, until it reached a point where firefighters enter the family home of the President.

Prosecutors confirmed that the incident at the president's family home is under investigation, but no one has yet been charged in connection with it. Minister Kierwiński expressed confidence that the perpetrator would be identified.

A pattern of targeted harassment

The false alarms have followed a clear pattern. Before the raid on the president's family home, similar incidents targeted the apartment of Professor Sławomir Cenckiewicz, the home of TV Republika editor-in-chief Tomasz Sakiewicz, and the headquarters of TV Republika itself. The station was the object of at least a dozen attacks involving false reports. According to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, the fabricated reports often repeated a motif of an unidentified young man threatening suicide by opening a gas cylinder at a specific address.

The perpetrators are very young. Work is ongoing, there will be further arrests. Everything indicates we are dealing with well-organised groups of very young people who, whether for fame or personal satisfaction, not for ideological or party reasons, have committed such acts in the past.

The online group behind the attacks

Investigators have established that the false alarms were the work of a larger group that formed on internet platforms and messaging apps. Its members did not know each other personally but quickly built a hierarchy that motivated participants to climb its ranks while allowing leadership to control the execution of orders. One of the detained men had previously been arrested in autumn 2025 in connection with a similar investigation into an organised group making false threat reports to public and private institutions, but was released due to lack of grounds for continued detention.

The group quickly built its hierarchy, which motivated people to climb it, but also allowed control over the execution of the leadership's orders.

Prosecutors are considering all possible motives, including acting on behalf of foreign services, but also the possibility of a 'stupid game' aimed at gaining recognition within the group. The maximum penalty for false alarms under Polish law is 8 years in prison, though the charges of participating in and leading an organised criminal group carry sentences of up to 15 years.

Political fallout

The government has faced sharp criticism over its handling of the false alarm wave. Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the President's Chancellery, accused the authorities of ignoring early signals and failing to coordinate the response. He suggested the possibility of a coordinated action testing Poland's security systems and demanded answers from the Interior Minister, the special services coordinator, and the Prime Minister. Minister Kierwiński, in turn, accused critics of spreading disinformation. Special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak praised the police for 'excellent work' while urging respect for the confidentiality of the investigation.