Former Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was indicted on Wednesday for endorsing fascist propaganda, according to a press release from a prosecution office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
Prosecutors allege that Georgescu repeatedly endorsed fascist ideas through a series of interviews, online posts and public speeches.
He is also accused of glorifying extremist historical figures such as Marshal Ion Antonescu — the leader of Romania’s World War II fascist government and a convicted war criminal — and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder of Romania’s interwar Iron Guard, a fascist paramilitary group.
If convicted, Georgescu faces between three months and three years in prison, or possibly longer due to the continuous nature of the alleged offenses.
The case, filed with the Sector 1 Court in Bucharest, addresses only the charge of “legionary propaganda” related to Romania’s National Legionary State, which ruled the country for five months from 1940 to 1941. But Georgescu remains under investigation for other serious offenses including allegedly attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.
A hard-line ultranationalist and a vocal opponent of the EU and NATO, Georgescu surged to prominence during Romania’s November 2024 presidential election in which he won 22.9 percent of the vote in the first round. The country’s Constitutional Court later annulled the results, citing credible evidence of foreign interference — including alleged Russian-backed influence operations and a coordinated disinformation campaign on TikTok.
The election was subsequently rescheduled for May but Georgescu was barred from running again and announced he was stepping away from politics.
