Szakács István case: police launched independent investigation based on June video
The Budapest Chief Prosecutor's Office clarified on Thursday in a statement that the police independently initiated proceedings against Szakács István. An earlier statement from the Ministry of the Interior painted a misleading picture of the prosecutor's role.
Prosecutor's office: prosecution was not party to launching the Szakács proceedings
The Budapest Chief Prosecutor's Office issued a statement on Thursday morning regarding the Wednesday morning police apprehension and questioning of Fidesz influencer Szakács István – according to 444.hu. The prosecution authority responded after the Ministry of the Interior issued a brief statement the previous evening claiming that "the investigative authority carried out all substantive procedural actions in consultation with the prosecutor's office."
However, the chief prosecutor's statement reveals that this "consultation" amounted to nothing more than notification that the police had initiated proceedings. The proceedings to date have proceeded solely as a result of decisions made within the police's remit.
Ordering the investigation and notifying the prosecutor's office
The National Investigation Office of the Rapid Response Police notified the Budapest Chief Prosecutor's Office in writing on 3 July 2026 that it had ordered an investigation that day for the crime of threatening to commit a terrorist act. According to the prosecution authority's statement, "the basis for ordering the investigation was, according to the police's information, a video message published by an influencer at the end of June 2026."
On Tuesday, 7 July, the investigative authority contacted the chief prosecutor's office again and informed it as fact that they were conducting a search of the influencer, detaining him, and interrogating him as a suspect. The prosecutor responsible orally drew the investigative authority's attention to the fact that "particular care must be taken to examine whether the given act actually realises the relevant statutory facts of the Penal Code."
Wednesday apprehension and police silence
Szakács István was taken away by police in the early hours of Wednesday. The National Police Headquarters did not respond to 444.hu's written questions on Wednesday, citing data protection reasons. A few hours later, the Ministry of the Interior issued its statement.
Following the news about Szakács István on Wednesday, the Budapest Chief Prosecutor's Office requested information about the proceedings. The police told them by telephone that they had conducted a search of the influencer, interrogated him as a suspect, the man filed a complaint against the suspicion, and they did not take him into custody. According to Takács Péter, the suspicion is preparation of a terrorist act.
Content of the June video
The chief prosecutor's statement confirms that the proceedings were based on a Szakács video published at the end of June. According to 444.hu, it was certainly the footage in which Szakács responded to a statement by Magyar Péter. Magyar Péter sought an immediate prosecutor's response regarding the gold convoy affair as to whether Viktor Orbán had been questioned as a suspect. To this, Szakács sent a message not to try to have Orbán taken away "with his cronies", because if that happened, "five hundred thousand Hungarians will go", and they will free him from anywhere.
The Fidesz influencer told RTL on Wednesday that he was drunk when he made the video, which he considers "ambiguous". According to Szakács, no one could seriously think that if Orbán Viktor is taken in, he will go there and carry him out of prison on his shoulder. Szakács became nationally known in summer 2024 when he offered two boxes of Xanax to Dániel Karsai, who suffered from incurable ALS.
Framework of criminal procedure law
The prosecutor's statement also addresses the fact that under criminal procedure law, during the investigation's fact-finding phase – that is, before suspect interrogation – the investigative authority acts independently. Whether the suspicion is well-founded is also within the police's remit; prosecutor's approval is not required for this, and none has occurred in this case.
The chief prosecutor's office will be in a position to assess the legality of the suspicion once it receives the complaint and case documents. "The complaint and case documents arrived this morning from the police to the prosecutor's office" – states the statement, according to which the chief prosecutor's office will inform the public of the result of its assessment of the complaint.
Incidentally, in connection with the gold convoy affair, not only Szakács István's name was mentioned, but also János Hajdu, Örs Farkas and Tamás Demeter. None of the prosecutor authorities named Szakács publicly; during the proceedings they referred to him only as a "known activist" or "influencer".
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)