Countries across the world have implemented extraordinary measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Most democracies have addressed the pandemic with ‘no or only minor violations of democratic standards’ (VDEM2020). In the flawed democracies of Eastern Europe, there are growing concerns that these extraordinary measures, many of which curtail individual rights and freedoms, may, in the long run, jeopardize civil liberties and constitutional democracy and work to further weaken liberal democracy. How do Eastern European citizens react when faced with executives’ abusive power consolidation? This article argues that the experience of COVID-19, along with the related constitutional breaches in Eastern Europe, has sparked greater public acceptance of authoritarian rule among citizens. We present survey experimental evidence from Romania and Czechia, two Central Eastern European countries with contrasting levels of authoritarian attitudes, and document that individuals' fear and anxiety related to the pandemic makes them more acceptant of practices incompatible with normal democratic norms, irrespective of prior levels of trust in political institutions and of political socialization during authoritarianism. The results have important implications for understanding the longevity of support for liberal democracy in new democracies.