Hungary’s opposition leader has accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of pushing the country toward “civil war” after activists from his party were attacked by an alleged government sympathizer.
The volunteers were organizing the “Voice of the Nation” referendum, an initiative launched by Tisza to gauge public opinion on a range of social, economic, and political issues ahead of next year’s elections.
“ Orbán Viktor’s bugging stormtrooper has now attacked the TISZA volunteers in Budapest, right in front of children (!) This is the Fidesz peace struggle,” Magyar wrote on social media platform X, sharing a video of the confrontation.
The footage shows the attacker shouting obscenities at the activists, threatening to return with 200 people to assault them.
He also claimed their stand had been set up in front of his shop, which he found offensive. The volunteers eventually called the police.
The Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hang reported that the attacker was identified as Sándor Cs., a former associate of mafia boss Zoltán Seres, who was murdered in 1999.A poloskázó Orbán Viktor rohamosztagosa most Budapesten támadta meg, gyerekek előtt (!) a TISZA önkénteseit. Ez a fideszes békeharc…
— Magyar Péter (Ne féljetek) (@magyarpeter102) March 28, 2025
Felszólítom a miniszterelnököt, hogy kérjen bocsánatot a honfitársaitól, akiket eltaposandó rovarhoz hasonlított és hívja vissza a verőembereit az… pic.twitter.com/A4VR36lvOb
On Friday, Magyar posted a photo of the aggressor posing with Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, further fueling accusations of links between him and the government.
The following day, he urged Orbán and Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok to condemn the growing violence, warning that the country is being pushed toward civil conflict.Ő itt Csincsa Sándor az orbáni rohamosztag egyik oszlopos tagja, aki komolyan véve a miniszterelnök poloskázó beszédét, tegnap szétrúgta Pesterzsébeten a TISZA népszavazási pultját és minősíthetetlen stílusban fenyegette az önkènteseinket.
— Magyar Péter (Ne féljetek) (@magyarpeter102) March 28, 2025
Nemrég még a rénszarvasok réménél, a… pic.twitter.com/dX1v1Ldq6f
He wrote on X: “Enough! I demand that you immediately speak out against the aggression ruling this country.
“You are turning Hungarians against Hungarians just to save your own power.”
He added: “I call on you to speak out, distance yourselves from these actions, and urge your supporters to stop the intimidation and violence.
“The criminals running the country want to push the country into civil war.”
Elég volt! Az országot vezető bűnözők polgárháborúba akarják taszítani az országot. Ma már nem csak rugdosták, de akasztással is fenyegették a TISZA önkénteseit Budapesten gyerekek előtt.
— Magyar Péter (Ne féljetek) (@magyarpeter102) March 29, 2025
Orbán Viktor elnök úr! Sulyok Tamás köztársasági elnök úr!
Elég volt! Követelem, hogy… pic.twitter.com/QbhzXM9Bch
Crackdown on dissent
This is not the first time that activists from the party have been attacked.
In an earlier case, a man from Eger, northern Hungary, was sentenced to several years in prison after punching a Tisza activist.
The opposition has accused the Orbán-led government of cracking down on dissent ahead of the upcoming elections, with the opinion polls showing the Tisza Party gaining momentum, threatening to end Orbán's 15-year rule.
The party is led by Magyar, a former Orbán loyalist turned critic, who previously worked for the foreign ministry and the prime minister’s office in Brussels before joining a state bank and then heading a student loan agency.
He eventually became disenchanted with Fidesz over what he said was the corruption and state propaganda that he witnessed from the inside.
