On June 17, 2026, within the scope of criminal proceedings NUIPC 63/21.5JBLSB, the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) issued a formal indictment against nine members of the so-called National Armilar Lusitanian Movement Group (“MAL”), which is described as a “far-right, nationalist, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, anti-establishment, conspiratorial and accelerationist movement, with an organized structure, which advocated the rejection of multicultural societies, the superiority of certain ethnic and ideological groups, and the hostility towards immigrants, refugees, Black people, Jews, Roma, LGBTQIA+ people, Muslims, activists, government officials, political parties, journalists, commentators, artists, and civil society organizations.”

The indictment describes that the defendants aimed at "subverting the democratic regime, imposing an authoritarian model, and resorting to violence to achieve their ideological objectives," and it also reveals the existence of "actions involving the recruitment and selection of members, the creation of closed groups on digital platforms, the promotion of training and logistical preparation, and the acquisition and manufacture of weapons and components through 3D printing."

Within the scope of the defendants' activities in MAL, they identified individuals and entities they classified as "targets" and viewed as a "threat" to the country, collecting information and cataloging "holders of political office, parties, civic movements, journalists, commentators, academics, artists, activists, and organizations associated with causes such as immigration, anti-racism, anti-fascism, diversity, social inclusion, and minority rights."

Two prosecutors led the investigation, assisted by the National Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Judicial Police. Four of the defendants are in pre-trial detention. The subversive actions were not carried out because the defendants considered that they did not yet have a sufficient number of members, weapons, funds and logistical means, or because they felt that the time for such actions had not yet arrived.

Jewish Community of Porto comments on the case

Gabriel Senderowicz, president of the Jewish Community of Porto and board member of the European Jewish Association, shared with the Israeli embassy in Portugal a comment on the accusation now known. ""Groups of marginal individuals are always a social danger that must be eradicated. In this case, it seems to us that the marginal individuals were also not very intelligent, as it makes no sense to mix Jews into a vast phalanx of associations and people who are generally opposed to them,"

Regarding the dangerousness of the group, Senderowicz stated that "it is a group of marginal individuals who may hurt people, but they have no strength or power, and on top of that they are inconsistent, because those who built Portugal were the Jews and Christians, not Hitler or the communists. It is ridiculous to include in the same list of targeted categories of people as different as Jews, migrants, refugees, black people, Roma, people from the LGBTQIA+ community, Muslims, activists, government officials, parties, journalists, commentators, artists and civil society organizations."

Regarding anti-Jewish hatred and anti-Jewish discrimination, Gabriel Senderowicz argues that "there is not much difference between the group now under formal accusation and many of its targets. In political and media power, as a rule everyone sees Jews as rich and powerful, and even colonizers in Israel. Our feeling is that the Power does not want Jews because it sees them as a threat to the establishment, given their innate capacity to create culture and prosperity."

"Some perspective on reality is advisable. The greatest threat facing Jews today does not come from fringe far-right groups with neither influence nor power. Who was it that invaded a synagogue in 2022, covered its walls with 'apartheid' graffiti in 2023, published lists of Jewish businessmen in an establishment newspaper in 2024, and inaugurated a Hamas embassy in Lisbon in 2025? It was certainly not this group."