The Czech Republic’s foreign minister was under fire Friday after being accused of falling for a prank interview staged in a room where activists had planted model guns and a replica bomb. The interview with Petr Macinka, chairman of the right-wing Motorists party in the Czech governing coalition, took place on Aug. 21 in an undisclosed location, according to a group known as the “Detektivni Parta” (“Detective Group”). The group -- which describes itself as investigative journalists reporting on the spread of disinformation -- also published images of Macinka sitting across from a man wearing a balaclava, sunglasses and a hood at a table with microphones. Macinka has insisted that he did not fall for the prank and immediately recognized the interviewer -- whom both he and Detektivni Parta identified as activist Vojtech Psenak, posing as a journalist. One would have to be “blind and deaf” not to have recognized Psenak, Macinka said on Facebook. Detektivni Parta also published video excerpts from the interview. Macinka did not appear to recognize Psenak in them. One excerpt did show him admitting it was the first time he had been interviewed by someone whose face he could not see. Detektivni Parta also published images of what it said were model guns and replica bombs hidden in the room and on Psenak, and said people had been hiding behind a curtain in the room at the time. It added that Macinka had bypassed all security protocols and asked his only bodyguard to leave the room without having him check the premises first. In the excerpts, Macinka discusses party colleagues and billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis. It was unclear how long the interview lasted and how much was not published. Detektivni Parta said on its website that it was hoping to determine Macinka’s “security awareness and cognitive capacities.” “Macinka’s failure enabled filming in a room with several model guns and explosives, and a number of people hidden behind a curtain,” the group said. Macinka told journalists late Thursday: “I have had many such interviews and I always approach them in the same way. The police officer was there with me and the course of the interview was not different from what I had experienced a thousand times before.” Czech media said the police unit responsible for protecting senior officials was looking into the matter. Martin Kupka, head of the right-wing opposition Civic Democrats, called on Macinka to resign. “A foreign minister. A closely protected person. A man working with classified documents from intelligence services. I can’t believe this has actually happened,” he said on X. Detektivni Parta insisted Macinka failed the test. “Evidence proves him wrong. Anyone with average media literacy would recognize what it’s about and would not expose themselves to an immense risk like this,” it said.
