This Video Does Not Show Romanian Police Searching the Homes of Georgescu's Supporters

Misbar investigated the circulating video and found the claim to be misleading, as it is not related to the investigations following the Romanian presidential elections.

Argeș House Searches Related to Antisemitism and Online Hate

On the morning of December 13, 2024, police in Argeș County, Romania, conducted two house searches in Pitești and Rucăr.

According to an official statement from Argeș County police released the same day, the searches were conducted due to acts related to antisemitism and online hate.

In the first case, police searched the home of a 37-year-old man who was detained on December 8 and placed under judicial control. The statement said "several storage devices and an airsoft gun were found so far. At the same time, a computer search warrant will be executed."

In the second case, police searched the home of a 43-year-old man from Rucăr who had posted an online message on December 7 urging the public to commit crimes. Specifically, he posted a photo of a firearm with the message, "this is the solution." Police have opened a criminal case for public incitement and seized eight hunting knives, a metal detector, a mobile phone, and several pyrotechnic items from the man's home.

The ongoing investigations by local police will determine the full extent of the criminal activity in both cases.

Romania’s Presidential Elections

On November 24, 2024, far-right candidate Călin Georgescu won the first round of presidential elections in Romania, a country bordering Ukraine and a member of both the European Union and NATO.

Amid allegations of Russian interference in the democratic process, the first round of the elections was annulled on December 6 by the Constitutional Court of Romania. In a statement, the court emphasized the need to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process.

The second round of the elections, scheduled for Sunday, December 8, was also canceled. When the court issued its decision to annul the elections, Georgescu called it an "officialized coup" and an attack on democracy. He also believes that European Union and NATO leaders prevented him from becoming president.

However, Romanian intelligence services have declassified documents exposing evidence of voting manipulation through social media platforms, illegal campaign financing on TikTok, cyberattacks orchestrated by external forces, and suspected Russian interference.

Romanian Prosecutors Raid Properties Linked to Georgescu’s Campaign Financing

Following accusations of Russian interference in the electoral process, specifically with Georgescu’s campaign, Romanian prosecutors conducted raids on three properties in Brașov on December 7. All three properties belonged to Bogdan Peșchir, a man suspected of illegally financing Georgescu’s electoral campaign, for which Georgescu had officially declared zero spending.

The raids were based on suspicions of voter corruption, money laundering, and cyber fraud. It is also suspected that the funds financing the campaign came from illegal activities.

Several devices, computers, and storage media were seized from Peșchir’s properties, along with $7 million transferred from his account to the National Agency for the Administration of Seized Assets in Romania (ANABI).

Bogdan Peșchir, known as "bogpr" on social media, is reported to have made donations to TikTok totaling over 1 million euros to finance Georgescu's campaign. Representatives of TikTok confirmed that Peșchir, between October 24 and November 24, made payments totaling $381,000 to users of TikTok accounts promoting Călin Georgescu.

Currently, there is no clear link between Peșchir and the alleged Russian interference. However, Romanian intelligence services believe that the secretive but well-funded social media campaign could only have been run by a "state actor."

There is no current record of Romanian police searching the homes of Georgescu’s political supporters among Romanian citizens.

Read More

Top Fake Claims About Luigi Mangione After His Arrest

A Study Examines the Spread of Misinformation in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Elections