Romanian police execute 29 searches across 15 counties following Piața Victoriei protest violence

Coordinated searches across Bucharest and fifteen counties

On Tuesday morning, 22 September 2026, exactly one week after violent clashes at an agricultural protest in Piața Victoriei, Romanian police launched 29 residential search warrants across Bucharest and 15 counties. The extensive operation was executed by officers from the Violent Criminal Groups Service and the Central Criminal Investigation Service of the Bucharest Police Directorate. All operational teams acted under the formal coordination of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal. Search teams were deployed simultaneously in the capital and across the counties of Arad, Bacău, Bistrița-Năsăud, Brăila, Călărași, Cluj, Constanța, Covasna, Dâmbovița, Gorj, Ialomița, Prahova, Sălaj, Timiș, and Vaslui. Support was provided on the ground by county police inspectorates and tactical intervention units from the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Gendarmerie.

The action is carried out within a criminal case in which investigations are underway regarding the offences of public incitement, assault on law enforcement, disturbing public order and peace, destruction, and assault or other violence, against 40 people, of whom 10 defendants had preventive measures previously ordered.

Charges and judicial measures

The ongoing criminal file targets 40 individuals suspected of multiple offenses committed during the demonstration. Prosecutors opened inquiries covering public incitement, assault on law enforcement officers, disruption of public peace and order, property destruction, and physical assault. Prior to Tuesday's operation, judicial authorities had already imposed preventive measures, including preventive custody and house arrest, against 10 of the defendants. The operation on 22 September included the execution of 30 warrants to bring the remaining individuals in for direct hearings before investigators. Police emphasized that home searches are standard procedural steps under the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure to administer evidence and that all investigated parties benefit from the presumption of innocence.

Violent clashes at the Piața Victoriei demonstration

The judicial inquiry stems from events that occurred on 15 September 2026 during a shepherds' and farmers' demonstration in Bucharest's Piața Victoriei. According to case investigators, a faction of attendees engaged in coordinated acts of violence and shouted verbal threats at gendarmes stationed at the perimeter. Demonstrators hurled paving curbstones, glass bottles, metal perimeter fences, and pyrotechnic devices at law enforcement personnel. Officers were subjected to physical assaults involving punches, kicks, and blows from wooden objects, including bats. During the disturbances, rioters damaged a gendarmerie vehicle and destroyed additional security equipment, while physically assaulting two media company employees who were reporting on site.

Investigation into protest infiltrators and political links

Prosecutors and police investigators are working to document the criminal activity and individual contribution of each participant involved in the unrest. In addition to agricultural workers, the 15 September event was attended by outside groups that provoked confrontations with security personnel. An analysis published by G4Media identified several violent agitators as political sympathizers linked to nationalist factions and Călin Georgescu. Authorities detained Georgescu for 24 hours on Monday night, 21 September 2026. Judicial inquiries and suspect interrogations by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal remain ongoing across all 15 affected counties.