The trial of Călin Georgescu and Horațiu Potra begins in the case regarding the attempted overthrow of the constitutional order
Călin Georgescu is being tried for complicity in the attempted commission of actions against the constitutional order and the communication of false information, in continuous form, two material acts.
Horațiu Potra is accused of attempting to commit actions against the constitutional order, failure to comply with the weapons and ammunition regime, failure to comply with the explosives regime, unlawful operations with pyrotechnic articles and public incitement.
Alongside them, 20 other defendants are being tried, including Dorian Potra and Alexandru Potra, as well as several people whom prosecutors claim were part of the group mobilized by Horațiu Potra.
The central accusation: the Ciolpani meeting after the annulment of the elections
The case starts from the events of December 2024, immediately after the annulment of the presidential elections by the Constitutional Court.
According to the indictment of the General Prosecutor’s Office, on December 7, 2024, between 10:51 and 12:01, Călin Georgescu allegedly met with Horațiu Potra at a riding center in Ciolpani, Ilfov County.
Investigators claim that the meeting took place „under cover” and that the two discussed a plan for the following day.
According to prosecutors’ allegations, Potra was going to mobilize people from his circle, including people with military training or specific operational capabilities, to participate in the protests scheduled in Bucharest on December 8, 2024.
The plan, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, would have involved carrying out violent actions of a subversive nature, so that the initially peaceful demonstrations would be hijacked.
Prosecutors state that the objective pursued was, by amplifying social tensions, „to change the constitutional order or to make it more difficult or prevent the exercise of state power.”
What do prosecutors accuse Călin Georgescu of?
In the case of Călin Georgescu, the Prosecutor’s Office claims that the organization of the meeting with Potra, the discussion of the plan and the subsequent actions contributed to strengthening the group’s determination to act.
The investigators also invoked contacting the leader of a radical-nationalist organization and announcing Georgescu’s intention to send a „concrete action” message to supporters the following day.
At the same time, prosecutors accuse the former presidential candidate of transmitting false information of an alarmist and potentially manipulative nature and of calling for the continuation of the vote, despite the cancellation of the election by the CCR.
Potra’s group stopped on the way to Bucharest
On the night of December 7 to 8, 2024, police stopped seven cars carrying Horațiu Potra and several of his relatives, who were traveling towards Bucharest.
Weapons and objects such as knives and other edged weapons were found in the vehicles. According to information made public at the time, a pistol, knives, equipment and several sums of money were discovered in the car in which Potra was travelling.
In subsequent searches of homes used by Potra and his associates, investigators announced the discovery of an arsenal that included grenades, firearms, ammunition and explosive materials. Prosecutors alleged that members of the group sought to infiltrate the protests that erupted after the annulment of the elections in order to cause violence and chaos.
However, these allegations are yet to be analyzed and proven in court.
The trial has finally passed the preliminary chamber
Călin Georgescu, Horațiu Potra and the other defendants were sent to trial by the Prosecutor General’s Office’s indictment of September 15, 2025.
On April 2, 2026, the Bucharest Court of Appeal found the legality of the indictment and the evidence and decided that the trial could begin. The decision was contested by both the defendants and the Public Ministry.
The preliminary chamber procedure was prolonged after, at the High Court, one of the judges of the panel filed a request to abstain, and the debates had to be resumed in the new composition of the panel.
On August 6, 2026, the High Court of Cassation and Justice definitively rejected the appeals and upheld the decision of the Bucharest Court of Appeal regarding the legality of the court referral. From that moment on, the case could enter the trial phase on the merits.
Horațiu Potra recently escaped house arrest
The trial begins less than a week after Horațiu Potra obtained a more lenient preventive measure.
On September 3, the High Court admitted his appeal against house arrest and ordered his placement under judicial control for 60 days.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal had previously upheld the house arrest on August 26, but this decision was changed by the supreme court.
The first hearing on the merits is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9, at 1:30 p.m., at the Bucharest Court of Appeal.
The judges will have to analyze the evidence presented by prosecutors, question the defendants and witnesses, and determine whether the charges in the indictment are proven.