The actor Adérito Lopes from the theatre company ‘A Barraca’ was assaulted on the evening of Tuesday, June 10, by a far-right group in Lisbon as he was entering a free-entry performance honoring Camões. On Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the opening of an investigation into the assault.
In a written response, the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed “the existence of an inquiry”.
The assault on the actor occurred around 8:00 PM on Tuesday, during which he was punched in the eye. Adérito Lopes sustained facial lacerations and was taken by firefighters to the hospital, where he received stitches.
The Public Security Police (PSP) were called to the scene due to “news of assaults”, where a 45-year-old man reported that he was assaulted by an individual after leaving his personal vehicle.
The PSP, using the suspect’s description provided by the victim and his friend, conducted searches in the streets near Largo de Santos, leading to the location and apprehension of a 20-year-old man suspected of the assault.
The actor assaulted by a far-right group was discharged from the hospital early in the morning. Adérito Lopes sustained facial lacerations and required stitches.
Notícias ao Minuto | 10:57 – 11/06/2025
Group That Attacked Actor Removed from RASI?
The neonazi group Blood & Honour is suspected of being behind the assaults on actors performing the Camões tribute. Images show at least two members of the organization, which was reportedly removed from the final version of the Annual Internal Security Report (RASI). This information has been reported by the weekly Expresso, which had access to images captured after the attacks.
The neonazi group Blood & Honour is suspected of the assaults on actors from the Camões tribute show. Images show at least two members of the organization, which was removed from the RASI.
Notícias ao Minuto | 12:37 – 11/06/2025
Political reactions quickly followed the assault on the actor. The Left Bloc demands the upcoming leaders’ conference of the Assembly of the Republic schedule a debate on the Annual Internal Security Report 2024 with the government’s presence.
“The Left Bloc has long denounced the dangerous actions of far-right groups that attack and seek to intimidate cultural professionals, health workers, and social and political activists defending human rights. These far-right actions are not, unfortunately, receiving the treatment they should from public authorities,” criticized Mariana Mortágua, coordinator and sole party deputy.
The BE requests that the next leaders’ conference schedule a debate on the Internal Security Annual Report 2024 with the government’s presence, following an actor’s assault by a far-right group.
Lusa | 16:35 – 11/06/2025
On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Mortágua noted that “neofascists attack books, theater, and those who create culture” because “they think they can”.
“The PSD government removed the far-right threat from the internal security report. It’s the biggest risk to our democracy. Solidarity with A Barraca theatre. Let’s fight,” wrote the block leader on the same platform.
Meanwhile, the PCP Secretary-General, Paulo Raimundo, remarked that the government will “have to correct” the absence of far-right groups in the National Internal Security Report (RASI).
“The government will have to correct this; I do not even question otherwise, nor does it occur to me that there will be any debate on this matter. It is so evident that it needs to be corrected that it seems to me there won’t be any debate on this,” stated Paulo Raimundo to journalists at the national headquarters of the Ecologist Party ‘The Greens’ (PEV) in Lisbon after a meeting with its leadership.
The PCP Secretary-General argued today that the government “will have to correct” the absence of far-right groups in the National Internal Security Report (RASI) and condemned the assault on an actor from the theatre company A Barraca.
Lusa | 19:20 – 11/06/2025
Former Communist deputy António Filipe also expressed solidarity via a post on X (Twitter): “Total solidarity with Adérito Lopes, actor from ‘A Barraca’ theatre, assaulted by neo-Nazis. It’s urgent to end the impunity of these criminal associations (those the government removed from the Security Report)”.
The Livre party presented a motion of condemnation in Parliament yesterday for the assaults on Adérito Lopes, expressing “deep repudiation”, and party spokesperson Rui Tavares demanded an investigation to “punish those responsible.”
“The assault on actor Adérito Lopes deserves the most vehement condemnation and an investigation to punish those responsible. It’s unacceptable for a play to be canceled due to a neofascist group. It results from the lack of a clear rejection of hate speech,” Rui Tavares criticized on ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter.
The PAN echoed the widespread dismay and also submitted a motion of condemnation in the Assembly of the Republic against the assaults on the actor. “This incident represents a grave act of violence, intolerance, and hatred that is inadmissible in a Democratic Rule of Law and blatantly infringes on our most basic constitutional values, namely freedom of expression, right to experience and create culture, and freedom of cultural creation,” the party’s proposed motion reads.
Prime Minister Yet to Comment on Attack on Adérito Lopes
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has not yet commented on the attack suffered by actor Adérito Lopes. However, when questioned about this silence, Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel mentioned there is “no reason for controversy”, noting that Culture Minister Margaria Balseiro Lopes had already spoken. The Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport condemned the assault on the actor, calling it an “attack on freedom of expression, right to creation, and democratic values”, emphasizing that “Culture is a place of freedom, never of fear”.
“The condemnation is made and clear: I am here making it. There is no reason to create controversy. We must focus on what is essential, which is the condemnation of violence,” added Rangel.
When asked about Luís Montenegro’s silence on the incidents of violence in Lisbon, Paulo Rangel reminded that the Culture Minister had already issued a “vehement condemnation of violence” and argued there is “no reason for controversy”.
Notícias ao Minuto | 19:41 – 11/06/2025
Representing the Socialist Party, José Luís Carneiro called for a “word of reassurance to citizens”. “I admit more information is being collected, but it’s evident that it’s desirable to offer some reassurance to citizens, reaffirming the fundamental values of social life. Our silence cannot be complicit in acts, attitudes, and behaviors that attack fundamental values,” stated the candidate for PS Secretary-General to the press.
Carneiro further pointed out that, in his view, “both Internal Administration and Justice should speak on this matter”, alongside the Culture sector, which has already condemned the attack.
“This is when, in my view, a public statement is justified to both condemn and provide public reassurance and to clarify what is being done to bring those responsible to justice as quickly as possible,” he reinforced.
The candidate for PS Secretary-General noted that, in his view, “both Internal Administration and Justice should speak on this matter”, alongside the Culture sector, which has already condemned the attack.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 19:24 – 11/06/2025
On the other hand, Chega leader André Ventura stated that “all violence is condemnable and should be condemned,” clarifying that the party he leads condemns the attack on ‘A Barraca’ theatre actor Adérito Lopes as well as any “violence committed against social or political groups”.
Ventura reaffirmed that Chega is “against all forms of violence, regardless of who it is against or the reasons,” stressing that “Portuguese politics should have no room for violence” and that “there shouldn’t be good left-wing violence and bad right-wing violence.”
“What we can’t have are presidents, prime ministers, and political leaders who, when faced with certain types of violence, remain silent hoping the issue dies down, and when met with other types, a host of commentators, politicians, and journalists are eager to say the words far-right and neonazi,” emphasized Ventura.
The Chega leader, André Ventura, today condemned the attack on actor Adérito Lopes but criticized the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister for criticizing some types of violence while staying silent on others.
Lusa | 20:23 – 11/06/2025
“Unacceptable” and “Attack on Freedom of Expression”
“In democracy, there is and must be freedom to think and express thoughts.” These words are from the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, stating “we live in democracy and do not want to return to dictatorship” while emphasizing that “in democracy, there is and must be freedom to think and express thoughts, in a plural and uncensored manner”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also spoke by phone with Maria do Céu Guerra, director of the play ‘Amor é fogo que arde sem se ver’, expressing his “solidarity, extended to the entire company and its actors”.
The head of state noted that “in democracy, there is and must be freedom to think and express thoughts, in a plural and uncensored manner”.
Notícias ao Minuto | 16:42 – 11/06/2025
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, also spoke, demanding “zero tolerance towards intolerance” and expressing “the strongest repudiation against an unacceptable act of violence.”
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, stated he stood in solidarity with the actors from ‘A Barraca’ and noted that “violence is unacceptable”.
“I joined the actors of A Barraca theater in solidarity after the assault on one of the cast members. Violence is unacceptable,” he wrote on the social media platform X (Twitter).
Later, Carlos Moedas reinforced that such attacks are “inadmissible”, describing them as “an attack on our identity, our culture, and this cannot happen in Lisbon”.
The Mayor reinforced that he already requested “an urgent meeting with the minister Maria Lúcia Amaral to quickly act”.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 16:49 – 11/06/2025
The presidential candidate Luís Marques Mendes described the attack as “inadmissible, intolerable, unacceptable.”
“Absolutely inadmissible, intolerable, unacceptable. All violence must be fought. There can be no tolerance,” he stated, believing it demands, in addition to “a firm discourse”, action from the courts to sanction those with such violent behavior.
Various individuals condemned what they considered an “attack on freedom of expression”.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 17:46 – 11/06/2025
Assault on Adérito Lopes Makes International Headlines
The attack on actor Adérito Lopes was highlighted in the international press, notably through a Reuters article titled ‘Neonazis attack actors in Lisbon, disrupting Portugal Day celebrations’.
The article outlines not only the “violent” incident but also the reactions, including the government’s stance and the broader political climate.
“The European Union stated that hate speech is increasing in Portugal and that the far-right is gaining support after the anti-immigration party Chega became the main opposition in Parliament in last month’s elections,” the news agency writes this Wednesday.
Solidarity Rallies for Actor Scheduled for Sunday
Rallies have been called in Porto and Lisbon for the coming Sunday to show solidarity with actor Adérito Lopes.
The rally named ‘We don’t want to live in a country of fear’ is set for 4:00 PM in front of the A Barraca Theater in Lisbon and 6:00 PM at Praça da Batalha in Porto. It is promoted by civil society and shared through accounts of various associations on social media, including SOS Racismo and Plateia – Associação de Profissionais das Artes Cénicas, and artistic organizations such as Palmilha Dentada, Artistas Unidos, and Plataforma 285.
Rallies in solidarity with actor Adérito Lopes, victim of a “cowardly attack” by a far-right group, are being organized for Sunday in Lisbon and Porto.
Lusa | 18:40 – 11/06/2025
Director Tiago Rodrigues says actor’s attack “cannot go unpunished”
