After Carol abdicated in September 1940 and the Guard ascended to power, its members thirsted for revenge, seeking to eliminate those who had participated in the various legal and illegal actions taken by the king's regime.
Within his first month in power, he approved an official probe into all those who could not account for becoming wealthy very fast in the last years of Carol's rule, and established a special court to investigate crimes committed by the previous regime's principal figures, or in their name, against the Guard.
[2] The court ordered the arrest of those to be investigated, had them imprisoned at Jilava, and entrusted them to the custody of special Legionary formations, described by Alexandru Creţianu as "nothing less than an improvised version of the SS strong-arm squads".
However, Ștefan Zăvoianu, the Bucharest Prefect of Police in charge of the Legionary squads guarding the prisoners, believed Antonescu had changed his mind about executing those responsible for Codreanu's death and refused to comply with the order.
[2] Zăvoianu was informed of this decision on November 26, and that night the squads shot dead every one of their charges:[4] politicians, senior military officers, and policemen accused of complicity in Codreanu's arrest and execution.
[10] Informed of what had taken place on November 27, the latter immediately called a special meeting of the Council of Ministers, demanding that the government and the Legion issue a joint public statement disassociating themselves from and condemning the recent events.
[citation needed] Sima replied that such a deed would not be repeated, to which Antonescu drew his attention to the fact that Nicolae Iorga's safety was threatened by Legionaries and he should take steps to ensure no harm was done.