Portugal sends nine far-right Movimento Armilar Lusitano members to trial for terrorism

Judicial ruling and indictment validation

On 1 October 2026, Judge Sofia Marinho Pires of Portugal's Central Criminal Investigation Court decided to send all nine defendants associated with the far-right group Movimento Armilar Lusitano to trial on terrorism charges. The judicial decision validated the indictment issued by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action. Prosecutors brought multiple charges against the defendants, including the foundation, leadership, and membership of a terrorist organization, illegal manufacturing and trafficking of weapons, terrorism financing, unlawful access, and abuse of power. The court identified the group as a structured neo-Nazi and anti-immigration organization operating since before 2021 with the explicit goal of dismantling the democratic order through political violence.

Alleged plots, weapons manufacturing, and targets

Court documents detail planned attacks against specific institutional and political targets across Portugal. Members of the network plotted an attack against Prime Minister Luís Montenegro by firing a 37 mm grenade through a window of his residence. The group also prepared assaults on association headquarters, including the migrant support organization Casa do Brasil and the LGBT rights group ILGA, alongside extortion and targeted bodily harm. Police searches recovered 3D-printed firearms, brass knuckles, daggers, ammunition, and explosives such as grenades and incendiary devices. Defendant Ricardo A. P. also circulated a file titled Lista de Indesejáveis on the Signal messaging network, compiling the personal information of Portuguese politicians, artists, and journalists for public exposure.

Paramilitary training and ideological structure

The judicial investigation revealed an internal structure that conducted formal recruitment through candidate questionnaires and vetting interviews. Members organized paramilitary preparation, including martial arts, military orientation, physical training, and weapons handling to prepare for a perceived scenario of extreme social and economic rupture. The ruling noted that the group adhered to fascist and neo-Nazi principles, asserting that individual rights and citizenship should be determined strictly by bloodline and ethnic origin. Six defendants (Bruno Carrilho, Bruno Gonçalves, Nuno Pais, Ricardo Pereira, Vítor Marques, and Gonçalo Marques) initially requested the opening of the instruction phase, but the court dismissed claims that the organization was merely an informal survivalist circle opposing pandemic restrictions.

The possession of weapons by the defendant, in the context of a group that projected violent actions, including attacks on association headquarters, extortion, offenses against the physical integrity of targets or death, firing a 37 mm grenade through a window into the house of Luís Montenegro, constitutes a material preparatory act of terrorist offenses.

Police investigation and legal custody status

The National Counterterrorism Unit of the Judicial Police dismantled the organization in June 2025, arresting its principal leaders during simultaneous search operations. Among the accused is an officer from the Public Security Police who was on duty with the Lisbon Municipal Police. The court ordered that three defendants (Bruno Carrilho, Bruno Gonçalves, and Nuno Pais) remain in pre-trial detention, where they have been held since June 2025. The other six defendants will await trial in freedom subject to non-custodial coercive measures. The upcoming proceedings represent the first trial of an exclusively Portuguese group for the crime of terrorist organization since the FP-25 case.