Poland Top Court Chief Suspended, Opposition Cries 'Coup'

Poland was thrown into a constitutional crisis Friday after the president of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal was suspended and police entered the court’s premises, according to Reuters and Fox News. Opposition leaders called it a coup, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government was restoring the rule of law.

The tribunal said on its website that its president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, had been suspended on Friday, Reuters reported. According to the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, citing her status as the judge with the longest tenure, said she issued the order halting the duties of Swieczkowski and the tribunal’s vice president for one month and took over running the court.

BREAKING: Coup d'état allegations have erupted in Poland after the head of the country's top constitutional court was suspended, plunging the country into a political crisis.

The court condemned the move as a "coup d'état," while Prime Minister Donald Tusk fired back that his… pic.twitter.com/UhR5MJD9YZ

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 30, 2026

Polish President Karol Nawrocki turned his plane around on the way to Senegal once the news broke, Reuters reported. “At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning,” Nawrocki said in a post on X, according to Reuters.

Police at the court, protesters outside

Police said officers entered the tribunal’s premises after incidents outside the building, including dangerous objects being thrown at officers, according to Reuters. Fox News reported that dozens of protesters gathered to demonstrate against what they called the wrongful suspension of the court’s president, with some praying and others holding signs reading “Stop destroying the state.”

Rzeczpospolita reported that the tribunal’s own account on X said the court’s website had been unlawfully taken over and insisted that Swieczkowski remains its president.

Opposition: ‘A coup’

Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro of the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) wrote on X, “It’s true: a coup d’état is underway,” according to Fox News. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki denounced “the forceful takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal” and wrote, “This is not how the rule of law is restored,” Fox News reported.

Tusk defended the move. “Restoring the rule of law is our duty,” he said, according to Fox News, adding in a post on X, “After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way.”

A long fight over the court

The fight over the tribunal has effectively paralyzed the institution, Reuters reported. Earlier this year Nawrocki, an ally of Poland’s former conservative government, refused to swear in three of six judges nominated by parliament, while Swieczkowski declined to let judges elected by the current parliamentary majority take up their duties, according to Reuters. Fox News reported that Swieczkowski was appointed under the PiS government after serving as a deputy justice minister.

U.S. ambassador weighs in

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose said in a statement posted on social media that “the events unfolding tonight at Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal are very serious indeed,” according to Fox News. “The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse,” Rose said, Fox News reported. He added, “America is on Poland’s side. It is not our place to judge or interfere in its internal affairs.”

Poland is one of America’s closest NATO allies and a key hub for aid to Ukraine, which is why the standoff in Warsaw is being watched closely in Washington. Daily Beltway will keep following the story as Nawrocki returns and both sides make their next moves.

Sources

• Fox News
• Reuters via ThePrint
• Rzeczpospolita
• Fox News on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.