Overview

• Tens to hundreds of thousands of supporters took to Budapest streets in defiance of a police ban on the June 28 Pride march.
• Organizers declared the parade a municipal event to sidestep child-protection legislation, yet police prohibited it under new constitutional and legal amendments.
• Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned organizers face up to one year in prison and attendees could incur fines under facial-recognition measures.
• More than 30 foreign embassies and EU officials, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, publicly backed the right to hold the march.
• Record turnout has turned this year’s Pride into a focal point of resistance to Viktor Orban’s conservative-nationalist consolidation ahead of next year’s elections.