Robert Fico gets a bullet in the mail

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico received an envelope containing a bullet from an unknown sender, the government said Wednesday.

The matter has now been referred to Slovakia’s police force, the government’s press department told POLITICO.

The threat follows an attempted assassination of Fico in May that shocked Europe and exposed Slovakia’s deeply polarized society.

The man who shot Fico was identified as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, who said he disagreed with the current government’s politics. He currently remains in custody, facing terrorism charges and from 25 years to life in prison.

Fico underwent several surgeries after sustaining life-threatening injuries in the shooting. He blamed the attack on the opposition in his first video appearance after being shot.

Critics say Fico’s government has been taking pages from the Hungarian playbook, targeting the media, the country’s corruption-fighting institutions and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as echoing Kremlin talking points on the Ukraine war.

Seb Starcevic contributed to this report.