Following a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Tusk, Cichocki was appointed interior minister in Tusk's second cabinet on 18 November 2011, where Cichocki presided over the nation's law enforcement services. Cichocki replaced Jerzy Miller in the post. During his tenure, Cichocki presided over security operations during the UEFA Euro 2012 football championship, defending the event's security preparations and the Policja's response to the 12 June 2012 violent clashes between Polish and Russian fans in Warsaw coinciding with a match between both teams. Following the riot, Cichocki demanded prosecutors to aggressively pursue legal actions against detained Polish hooligans to "fully feel the consequences of their antics," while ordering arrested Russian fans to be deported and excluded from entering the Schengen Area for five years. Cichocki concluded after the championship's completion that far fewer people were arrested during the events than had been expected.