Macierewicz scuffles with counter-protester at Smolensk commemoration in Warsaw
At the monthly Smolensk commemoration in Warsaw on Saturday, 10 October, Antoni Macierewicz got into a scuffle with a counter-protester who had blocked a banner. Jarosław Kaczyński used his speech afterwards to accuse opponents of being Putin's allies.
Monthly commemoration in Warsaw
On Saturday, 10 October 2026, Jarosław Kaczyński and a group of Law and Justice (PiS) politicians laid a wreath before the Monument to the Victims of the Smolensk Tragedy 2010 on Piłsudski Square in Warsaw. Flowers were also laid earlier before the monument to Lech Kaczyński. Among those present were Mariusz Błaszczak, head of the PiS parliamentary club and a former defence minister, and Antoni Macierewicz, who led the defence ministry from 2015 to 2018. Opposite the PiS group stood people who blame Lech Kaczyński for the tragedy of 10 April 2010, while Macierewicz's supporters backed the theory of an assassination at Smolensk. Counter-protesters chanted 'kłamca' (liar) during the ceremony.
The scuffle
A man among the counter-protesters stood in front of a banner with a slogan referring to the assassination theory and refused to move. His refusal provoked outrage from Macierewicz, who walked toward him. The two then became involved in a scuffle, which took place during the commemoration itself. The sources describe the clash as Macierewicz struggling with a protester, without giving a clear account of how it started.
A September incident
A video published on X by activist Arkadiusz Szczurek showed a scuffle involving Macierewicz at the September monthly commemoration. In the footage, a woman walks up to the politician and pushes him, after which he raises a hand holding an object resembling a paint gun and fires a shot into the air. He then pushes demonstrators away, one of whom falls, while shouts of 'Policja, policja' (police, police) can be heard. Asked about the matter after that incident, police said they were analysing the recorded material.
- Smolensk air crash, referred to by Kaczyński and the counter-protesters as the tragedy of 10 April 2010
- Activist Arkadiusz Szczurek publishes video of Macierewicz firing a shot into the air at the monthly commemoration
- Monthly commemoration in Warsaw, with a scuffle involving Macierewicz and Kaczyński's speech
Kaczyński's speech
After the wreath-laying, Kaczyński told the crowd that the situation repeats every month and that opponents are being allowed to disrupt the ceremony:
It is like this every month. What is written in the law is not carried out. There is no isolation of these people who disturb our religious ceremonies.
He spoke of a fierce battle against memory and recalled that soon after the crash it was claimed that society would quickly forget. He said that this had been the expectation of Putin and other Russian criminals, and that the criminals had allies in Poland who, in his words, carry out their criminal activity week after week with police tolerance, including by threatening murder.
There was an assassination, and it is Putin's crime!
What comes next
Kaczyński assured his audience that the disruptions would end and that the people involved would be treated in line with the law. He said the Smolensk case would return with full force, backed by arguments the PiS side did not have before but which it now intends to put on the table and present to the nation. He also said that the nation and world public opinion cannot be deceived. The sources do not report any formal step or date tied to these promises.
