The crime? Attending Pride March
Wojtuś, a former member of Youth for Freedom (MdW), was removed from the organisation shortly after appearing at Olsztyn’s Equality March on August 9. The event, which promoted LGBT rights and tolerance, drew around 200 participants.
The expulsion was announced in a Twitter post by Krystian Szwed, a local president of MdW, who stated that participation in the Equality March was “contrary to the views of our organisation” and that the group “distances itself” from such behaviour. The decision, taken on 9 August 2025, was made by him and the regional president of the youth organisation, Liza Maria Przybylska.
Przybylska commented “zero tolerance policy”, sharing the tweet. The phrasing and tone drew attention online, both from opponents of MdW and from figures within the broader libertarian movement
One such voice was Cezary Świtała, former chair of the Libertarian Party in Poland, who expressed surprise that Liza Przybylska, in particular, had been involved in the decision. According to Świtała, she had previously assured him that Nowa Nadzieja, the parent party of MdW, was a suitable environment for libertarians, where members enjoyed significant autonomy in matters outside the official party agenda. Her participation in enforcing the expulsion, he suggested, marked a shift from those earlier assurances.
The incident has sparked a broader debate, extending beyond libertarian circles, over the questionable use of classical liberalism as the claimed founding ideology of Nowa Nadzieja and MdW. The mother party has drifted further from libertarian principles in recent years. Quite recently, Nowa Nadzieja’s MPs voted in unity to halt the EU-Mercosur agreement, which would allow some limited trade with South American countries. The leader of the party, businessman turned politician Sławomir Mentzen has engaged in some mixed messaging on the LGBT issues.
During the last campaign, he posted a photo on social media posing with a man in a furry costume. At other times, he has taken to berating the LGBT movement, and once was visibly flustered when a journalist asked what he would do if one of his children turned out to be gay; his answer dissolved into incoherent rambling. Perhaps the most remarkable moment of the last presidential race came when he played kingmaker and invited the two candidates who did make it into the second round to his podcast studio. The left-wing candidate had to endure a barrage of attacks, including a moment in which Mentzen accused him of “grooming children with gay pornography”.
In the last few hours, Przybylska’s and Szwed’s tweets have been deleted, although it seems that Wojtuś’s removal remains set in stone. It might, however, be too late to memory-hole the decision, as it went viral on mainstream social media profiles. In posts on Twitter, Wojtuś said he was “proud” to have been there but noted the downside was that “the whole internet” assumed he was gay, something he denied, stating he was “just tolerant.” Responding to comments, he acknowledged that Youth for Freedom “probably” was too conservative for him.
In Poland, LGBT rights remain among the most restricted in Europe. Same-sex couples are barred from marrying or entering civil partnerships, denied adoption rights, and excluded from surrogacy, which is outlawed altogether. Public officials at multiple levels have endorsed so-called “LGBT-free zones,” while political rhetoric routinely casts LGBT rights as incompatible with traditional or national values. During the previous term, this narrative was amplified by the regime television.
Polish “liberty” movement may not be ready for liberty just yet.
Picture used:
“Spotkanie ze Sławomirem Mentzenem w Lubartowie” by Radosław Czarnecki is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
