Leandro Fortes: "Did our terrorists swear allegiance to ISIS online?"
Brazilian journalist Leandro Fortes called the Brazilians arrested this Thursday, the 21st, by the Federal Police, suspected of having ties to the terrorist group Islamic State, "terrorists," after exchanging preparatory messages about carrying out a terrorist attack in Brazil; "Does this mean that our terrorists swore an oath (!) to the Islamic State ONLINE? And, 15 days before the Olympics, they decided to get together to start a martial arts course and buy ONE rifle in Paraguay? People...never mind," the journalist stated on his Facebook profile; Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said that it is an amateur group; "An organized cell would not try to buy a weapon online. It's a disorganized cell."
247 - Journalist Leandro Fortes described the Brazilians arrested this Thursday, the 21st, by the Federal Police as "terrorists," suspected of having ties to the terrorist group Islamic State after exchanging preparatory messages about carrying out a terrorist attack in Brazil.
"Does this mean that our terrorists swore allegiance (!) to the Islamic State ONLINE?", Fortes questioned. "And, 15 days before the Olympics, they decided to get together to start a martial arts course and buy ONE rifle in Paraguay? People...never mind," the journalist stated on his Facebook profile.
The Minister of Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, said that it is an amateur group that, nevertheless, cannot be ignored by public security forces. "It was an amateur cell, without any planned preparation. An organized cell wouldn't try to buy a weapon online. It's a disorganized cell," he added.
The Federal Police monitored messages exchanged by the group on social networks such as Telegram and WhatsApp and discovered preparatory actions such as planning to begin martial arts training and contacting a website selling illegal weapons in Paraguay to purchase a rifle.
The men were arrested in the states of Amazonas, Ceará, Paraíba, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul.
The investigations began in April, and the operation is executing ten temporary arrest warrants, two coercive detentions, and 19 search and seizure warrants. According to the Federal Police, those involved participated in a virtual group called Defenders of Sharia.