The Public Security Police (PSP) officer, Bruno Napoleão Gonçalves, currently in pre-trial detention for recruiting members for the neo-Nazi group Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL), appeared as a substitute candidate on the Ergue-te party’s list for the Lisbon Municipal Assembly in the September 26, 2021 election. The following year, he was recognized by the state and awarded a silver medal for “exemplary conduct.”
Information confirmed by Notícias ao Minuto indicates that the PSP chief was listed 15th among substitute candidates for the far-right ultranationalist party, despite the incompatibility with his duties in the security force.
In 2022, Bruno Napoleão Gonçalves’s name appeared on a list concerning the “award of the medal for exemplary conduct to PSP officers for the second quarter of 2022.” The document, dated July 3, 2023, notes that the officer was recognized with a silver medal for “exemplary conduct” on April 2 of the previous year.
The PSP National Directorate was unaware of any political affiliation of the officer. However, they noted that such affiliation is incompatible with his duties and that the Inspectorate General of Internal Administration (IGAI) has the authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings, similar to those conducted by the Municipal Police of Lisbon.
The PSP chief was reportedly responsible for recruitment interviews for the neo-Nazi group, which he founded in 2018. Heavy-truck driver Bruno Carrilho, also detained on Tuesday, and private security guard Tatiana Lages are the two other masterminds behind the collective.
It was in mid-2021 that the group began recruiting new members, with the police officer and truck driver using Telegram and Signal to spread their message.
Applicants, favored for their weapon handling knowledge or backgrounds in the military, security forces, or private security, were required to fill out personal information forms, online questionnaires, and undergo in-person interviews. Bruno Gonçalves conducted these interviews, while Bruno Carrilho evaluated the candidates’ records, who, if approved, were added to private channels.
The PSP officer linked to Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL) was known to conduct in-person recruitment interviews for the neo-Nazi group. Bruno Gonçalves, who served as the head of the Municipal Police in Lisbon, is currently in pre-trial detention.
The movement attracted members from far-right groups, such as ‘Gárgulas de Portugal,’ ‘Soldiers of Odin,’ ‘Nova Ordem Portuguesa,’ and ‘Nova Ordem Social,’ founded by neo-Nazi Mário Machado. It formed autonomous cells throughout the country, which purchased materials and equipment to manufacture 3D weapons. The Public Prosecutor’s Office suspects the aim was to promote rejection of state institutions, potentially eroding the democratic rule of law.
The Judicial Police (PJ) arrested six suspects on Tuesday associated with MAL, with four placed in pre-trial detention and two required to report periodically.
Four defendants were charged with “offenses related to a terrorist group, and individually, with terrorist offenses related to possession and manufacture of 3D weapons with terrorist intent.” The two other detainees, allegedly parents of two defendants, were charged with “common offenses of possession of prohibited weapons.”
MAL aspired to transform into a political movement supported by a paramilitary group. The members were thus “arming themselves” and “recruiting people” to ensure they had “tactical training capacity for a large-scale action.”
