“The prosecution has filed charges and wants to impose a financial penalty on me without a court hearing, simply because we held the largest freedom march of the past decades,” Karácsony said via email. “They do not even want a trial, because they do not want to face it.”

Karácsony, a Green politician and strong opponent of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, opposed the ban and invited people to join the 2025 Budapest Pride rally. The event took place in June, joined by over 100,000 participants, including several European politicians. Two months later, Karácsony was questioned by Hungary’s state police. Last December, he told his followers in a social media post he would face government charges for the case.

The event qualified as an assembly outlawed under the new amendment, the prosecutors argue. By proceeding with the event, Budapest’s mayor is accused of committing the “misdemeanor of violating freedom of association and assembly,” the federal prosecutor office’s statement says.

Karácsony is one of the ’10 to Watch’ in the POLITICO 28: Class of 2026.

The Hungarian Prosecution Service couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

This article has been updated with a comment from Karácsony.