The fracas over these patrols has strong political implications, and could pile pressure on Tusk’s increasingly fragile centrist coalition. While the government is telling the vigilantes to go home, conservative nationalist President-elect Karol Nawrocki is praising them.
“Only the Border Guard has the right to control our borders,” government spokesperson Adam Szłapka said after a hastily convened security meeting in Warsaw. “Anyone impersonating officers or hindering their work will face consequences.”
Videos circulating online show masked men stopping cars, asking for identification and attempting so-called “citizen arrests” of those they suspect of illegal entry. Regional officials have warned the actions may constitute impersonation of public authority and pose risks to public safety.
Tusk branded the groups’ political backers, including some opposition lawmakers, “shameful and scandalous.”
Nawrocki, by contrast, thanked one of the organizers, far-right activist Robert Bąkiewicz, earlier this week for what he called a “citizen-led defense of the border” — a comment critics argue risks legitimizing the self-appointed patrols.
The decision to close the border was meant to give Tusk a platform to project strength at a precarious moment for his government.
