Video: Local Romas almost lynched resident supporting the mayor at the public hearing

The incident stems from a racist joke shared by an independent councillor on his Facebook page, which triggered a flood of comments and was followed by the mayor’s defence of the councillor at a public hearing. The result was an attempted lynching carried out by local Roma residents.

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Councillor shares racist joke

There is no other way to describe the situation when a group of enraged people attack a single individual. The difference here is that it happened in front of cameras during the public hearing held on 30 October in Nagykálló, a town with nearly 10,000 residents.

The story began in June 2024, when Councillor Jónás Sándor, who was elected in that year’s local elections, shared a post containing racist content on his Facebook page. Jónás, known for his hobby of collecting orchids, later deleted the post. The mayor, Zoltán Juhász, who has led the town since 2004, attempted to calm the situation in a post on 28 October: “Humour and free speech are important, but they must not hurt others,” he wrote.

Local resident beaten by local Roma

Despite these efforts, order was not restored. At the public hearing on 30 October, the issue resurfaced when the mayor stated that the Roma community in Nagykálló was not hopeless and that the situation had improved during his tenure.