Portuguese authorities believe members of the neo-Nazi Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL) extremist group rounded up last year was planning to attack the Lisbon apartment of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. According to details contained in an indictment filed by the Central Department for Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), members of the group exchanged messages in which they discussed monitoring the apartment block where the PM lives during the early months of last year. Investigators allege that the group’s leader, Bruno G. – at the time employed by Lisbon’s Municipal Police – gained access to confidential information identifying the building as being under permanent protection by the Public Security Police (PSP) personal security unit. Prosecutors say he also obtained the identity of one of the officers assigned to Montenegro’s protection detail. According to the indictment, one MAL member wrote that the situation required a “planned discussion”, adding that “the lad” would eventually enter and leave the building. Members of the group allegedly arranged surveillance activities outside the residence, say reports today. The investigation further claims that while one member rejected the idea of kidnapping the prime minister, another suggested firing a 37mm grenade into his apartment. Prosecutors stress the proposal never progressed beyond discussion. In fact, the alleged attack plan was later abandoned after Bruno G. reportedly informed fellow members that the PM was not even living in the apartment at the time, but staying at a hotel in Lisbon. (…) Documents from the investigation released last year reveal repeated conversations within closed Telegram groups about targeting parliament. The threats were taken seriously enough for parliamentary security officials to discuss tightening rules governing access, circulation and security inside the building. A formal indictment against defendants rounded up last summer was filed late yesterday by prosecutor Cláudia Almeida Porto (a specialist in terrorism-related crimes), with nine now formally accused of 29 crimes, centering on terrorism.
via portugalresident: Neo-Nazi group “planned attack on PM’s home”
siehe auch: Portugiesische Neonazis sollen Anschlag auf Regierungschef Montenegro geplant haben Ein Jahr nach der Festnahme von mutmaßlichen Rechtsterroristen in Portugal hat die Staatsanwaltschaft Anklage erhoben und Details über umfangreiche Anschlagspläne bekannt gemacht. Portugiesische Medien berichten, in der Anklageschrift werde der Gruppe vorgeworfen, die Wohnung von Premierminister Montenegro ausgespäht und einen Granatenangriff auf den Regierungschef diskutiert zu haben. Insgesamt sollen die Terroristen 120 Menschen des öffentlichen Lebens als potenzielle Angriffsziele ausgemacht haben. Darunter seien vierzig Politiker, aber auch Prominente aus Journalismus, Kultur und Wissenschaft sowie Bürgerrechtsaktivisten. Die Gruppierung, zu der auch ein hochrangiger Polizist zählen soll, habe sogenannte „Volkstribunale“ erwogen, um Prozesse wegen eines angeblichen Verfalls der portugiesischen Nation abzuhalten; Costa on list of ‘undesirables’ targeted by Portuguese neo-Nazi group The extremist Lusitanian Armillary Movement planned to attack public figures it held responsible for the “decline of the nation.” European Council President António Costa was among the more than 100 politicians and public figures included in a list of “undesirables” targeted by a Portuguese neo-Nazi group, the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed Friday. Following its creation in 2018, the Lusitanian Armillary Movement (MAL) ― which authorities describe as a “far-right, nationalist, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, anti-establishment” movement ― began to compile a list of potential targets the group held responsible for the “decline of the nation.” In addition to Costa, who served as Portugal’s prime minister between 2015 and 2024, the list included the country’s current head of government, Luís Montenegro, former presidents Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas. Public figures like journalist Miguel Sousa Tavares, comedian Ricardo Araújo Pereira and former European Parliament lawmaker Ana Gomes were also on the list. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the list was used to plan “future actions” against prominent targets. Among the group’s alleged members was a high-ranking officer in Portugal’s Public Security Police who supplied the MAL with information regarding top politicians’ security arrangements
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