Budapest Mayor May Get Off with a Fine for Organizing Illegal Pride Event

Translation of an article originally published in Hungarian by Magyar Jelen on January 28, 2026 by János Kemény.

The Budapest 5th and 13th Districts Prosecutor's Office has filed charges and is seeking a fine against the city's mayor, who organized and led a public assembly in violation of a police ban—according to Index, citing a Wednesday morning statement from the prosecutor's office.

According to the indictment, Budapest's mayor, Gergely Karácsony, posted a video announcement on June 16, 2025, on one of the most popular social media platforms. In it, he stated that the city government was organizing an event on June 28, 2025, under the name "Budapest Büszkeség Menet (Budapest Pride)," and invited his followers to attend. Under Hungarian assembly law, the event qualified as a public assembly, since it aimed to express opinions on public matters, and anyone could join.

The Budapest Police Headquarters, acting as the assembly authority, ordered the event banned on June 19, 2025, citing both the amended child protection law and the fact that another person had previously registered another event for the same time and place.

Mayor Karácsony learned of the police order on the day it was issued but declined to appeal and did not pursue judicial review, allowing the ban to take effect. He went ahead and organized the gathering regardless. In doing so, he repeatedly issued public calls for participation in the assembly. On June 28, 2025, he led the march from City Hall Park in District V to the Műegyetem (Technical University) waterfront in District XI.

The Budapest 5th and 13th Districts Prosecutor's Office charged the mayor with the misdemeanor offense of violating the freedom of association and assembly in an indictment filed with the Central District Court of Pest, one of Budapest's main courts.

The prosecutor's office has requested that the court impose a fine on the defendant through a penal order issued without trial.

Editor's Note: Gergely Karácsony is the mayor of Budapest, Hungary's capital city. The "amended child protection law" refers to Hungarian legislation passed in 2021 that restricts public events deemed to promote LGBTQ content. In Hungarian legal procedure, administrative decisions can be appealed through courts before becoming final.