{"id":213629,"date":"2026-07-03T17:49:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T15:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=213629"},"modified":"2026-07-03T17:49:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T15:49:53","slug":"rift-in-chicago-former-comrades-from-the-sno-accuse-him-father-sasa-petrovic-changed-his-tune-after-returning-from-serbia-asked-us-to-support-vucics-opposition-and-prevented-us-from-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/rift-in-chicago-former-comrades-from-the-sno-accuse-him-father-sasa-petrovic-changed-his-tune-after-returning-from-serbia-asked-us-to-support-vucics-opposition-and-prevented-us-from-voting\/","title":{"rendered":"RIFT IN CHICAGO \u2013 FORMER COMRADES FROM THE SNO ACCUSE HIM: Father Sa\u0161a Petrovi\u0107 \u201cChanged His Tune\u201d After Returning From Serbia, Asked Us to Support Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s Opposition and Prevented Us From Voting!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 85th Congress of the Serbian National Defense (SNO), the world’s oldest Serbian organization, was held in Chicago on Saturday. The eight-hour gathering was marked by clashes, heated arguments, and ultimately ended with the majority of members being denied the right to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the Congress began, SNO members were met at the entrance by private security guards, who were soon joined by six police officers. As it turned out, their role was to prevent former SNO vice president Had\u017ei-Milo\u0161 Marinkovi\u0107 from attending the Congress, on the grounds that he had been expelled from the organization following an alleged physical altercation with another member, after which he spent more than two months in immigration detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marinkovi\u0107 did arrive with a group of supporters. Following a brief discussion with police, he remained outside, while his supporters were allowed to attend the assembly but were not permitted to vote because the membership list had reportedly been stolen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hours of heated debate, it was decided to apply an old rule under which the SNO leadership had last been elected decades ago. According to that rule, only members of the Central Board, Executive Board, Supervisory Board, and delegates from local chapters were entitled to vote, although the exact number of local delegates could not be determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, only 14 people out of roughly 50 attendees were granted voting rights, sparking outrage among many of those present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serbian Times attempted to speak with outgoing SNO president Father Sa\u0161a Petrovi\u0107 about the events and their consequences for the future of the organization, but despite repeated requests, he declined to comment. Instead, he threatened to sue Serbian Times over what he described as a “malicious article,” accusing the outlet of being “a state security media outlet.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those alleged “facts,” however, did not seem to concern Petrovi\u0107 over the past year while Serbian Times was publishing his interviews and articles and supporting his public criticism of the government of Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107. While there was criticism, there was cooperation. Now, only threats of lawsuits and avoidance of journalists’ questions remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While awaiting either his lawsuit or an interview, Serbian Times sought answers from a group of current members and former SNO officials who say they are “appalled by the actions and manipulation of former president Sa\u0161a Petrovi\u0107.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“WE KEPT QUIET FOR A YEAR”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“We remained silent for almost a year about Petrovi\u0107’s manipulation because of the priestly robe he wears and out of respect for the reputation of the Serbian National Defense. But enough is enough. Since last year, Archpriest Sa\u0161a Petrovi\u0107 has been in conflict with almost all of the members who elected him president, including most members of his former Central Board. There have been numerous reasons for those conflicts and the growing distrust,” former SNO vice president Had\u017ei-Milo\u0161 Marinkovi\u0107 told Serbian Times, noting that he himself was expelled following a dispute with Petrovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Before being elected president in 2025, Petrovi\u0107 was in close contact with the people who elected him. Now he prevented those same people from voting simply because they no longer support him. A year ago, our shared goal was to modernize and rejuvenate the work of SNO in America, restore SNO chapters in the United States and Serbia, support Serbian students in their just struggle, advocate for the restoration of the monarchy, and help build a healthy political system in Serbia. Sa\u0161a Petrovi\u0107 sabotaged that agreement and ultimately betrayed it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SRPSKA SRAMOTA U \u010cIKAGU: Policija i privatne „gorile“ na Skup\u0161tini SNO, spisak \u010dlanova ukraden, a izbore obele\u017eili sukobi klanova! (VIDEO)<\/a><\/blockquote>