This Thursday, the Portuguese police evacuated the headquarters of the far-right party, Chega, after a still confusing episode that occurred at around noon. A man has shown up at the training’s offices in Lisbon, on Miguel Lupi Street, and threatened to detonate an explosive device that he was supposedly carrying in his backpack. As the police reported to the Lusa news agency, the man approached an employee and asked him about the leader of Chega, André Ventura, who at that time was on the island of Madeira, where regional elections are being held this Sunday.
Shortly after, the man was transferred by the police to a hospital to undergo an evaluation of his mental health status, since his speech was incoherent to the officers. A police spokesperson has clarified that the man is “intercepted, but not detained”, as it could be an action resulting from some psychological disorder. Explosive disposal teams have not yet confirmed whether the backpack had a device.
In his first statements in Funchal, capital of Madeira, the Chega leader regretted “the escalation of violence” and explained that his formation will evaluate both the party’s security and his personal security. In a statement, the ultra formation has attributed what happened to the “climate of hatred and cancellation that the extreme left has created in recent weeks and based on statements by other parliamentary groups against freedom of expression and the policy of persecution.” The party has repudiated “any type of violent behavior.” Chega, which received more than a million votes in the March elections, is the third force in the Assembly of the Republic, with 50 deputies.
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