Poland's court showdown: Tusk vows "no compromise" after President Nawrocki enters the Constitutional Tribunal

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, both appointed under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, were suspended Friday by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, an appointee of the current parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government backs the move; Święczkowski had blocked parliament-chosen judges from working for months.

President Karol Nawrocki, a PiS ally, turned his plane around on the way to Senegal and entered the tribunal after midnight Saturday, calling the suspension "a forcible takeover of a constitutional body." A video posted by a tribunal judge appeared to show him pushing judges aside as he entered, The Irish Times reports.

Święczkowski called his removal a coup d'état. PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński urged supporters to "topple Tusk." Tusk, in a national address, said: "In some matters there can be no compromise." Korwin-Piotrowska has called a meeting of tribunal judges for Tuesday, setting up another possible clash.

U.S. Ambassador Tom Rose urged calm, warning against "a confrontation that spirals into something far worse."

Update, Nov. 2: Nawrocki says he rejects the suspension and will keep treating Święczkowski as the tribunal's lawful president. His office has threatened to report Korwin-Piotrowska and other judges to prosecutors over the scuffle during his late-night entry, Euronews reports. Korwin-Piotrowska plans to use Tuesday's meeting of judges to draw disciplinary panels for Święczkowski and his deputy, wnp.pl reports.