Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has described Roma protesters who disrupted a public forum held by Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár as “organised criminals”, fuelling accusations of stigmatisation and political scapegoating amid an already heated domestic debate.

Roma protesters disrupted Lázár’s forum, PM Orbán called them criminals

The controversy began on Thursday in Gyöngyös, where around a dozen Roma protesters interrupted Lázár’s public forum, demanding his resignation. Their protest followed remarks made by the minister a week earlier, in which he suggested that members of Hungary’s Roma community could represent a “domestic labour reserve” for cleaning work on InterCity trains. The comments sparked widespread backlash and accusations of racism, prompting Lázár to issue a public apology.

Government-aligned daily Magyar Nemzet soon claimed that the protesters were activists linked to the opposition Tisza Party and later alleged, citing unnamed local sources, that several participants had criminal records. As Telex reported, these claims were subsequently echoed by both Lázár and Orbán on social media as established facts.

A video emerged, listing the crimes the protesters allegedly committed

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Orbán listed a range of serious crimes allegedly committed by those involved, including robbery, assault and even homicide, calling them “the apostles of love” from the Tisza Party. Speaking later the same day at a Digital Civic Circles (Digitális Polgári Körök, DPK) event in Hatvan, the prime minister said he had never before seen “criminals, organised into gangs, sent by a political party to disrupt a peaceful gathering in order to intimidate Fidesz supporters”.

Orbán also claimed to have personally reviewed the protesters’ criminal records, stating that some had committed more offences than their age would suggest, though he did not explain how he had accessed such information.

Tisza Party denies sending these people to the forum

The Tisza Party firmly denied any involvement. In a written response, party representatives said only two or three of the Roma individuals present were known to them and insisted that party members had been explicitly asked to avoid the Gyöngyös event to prevent confrontation. According to the statement, the government was attempting to divert attention from Lázár’s “offensive remarks” by provoking and politicising the incident.

One of the protesters also rejected the accusations on social media, describing the demonstrators as “ordinary fathers and grandfathers” standing up against what he called ongoing humiliation. He accused the government of intimidation and character assassination, arguing that speaking out against those in power should not justify collective labelling.

Independent MP András Jámbor criticised Orbán’s rhetoric, saying it reflected a broader pattern in which Roma protesters are automatically portrayed as criminals. Meanwhile, Roma activist Ádám Lakatos has announced a demonstration in Budapest in solidarity with the Roma community, stressing that “Roma identity is not synonymous with stereotypes”.

Featured image: Orbán Viktor/Facebook