Brazilian police thwart neo-Nazi plot to bomb synagogues

May 22, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Brazilian police said they thwarted a plan by neo-Nazis to bomb two synagogues.

Police arrested 14 men and released them pending an investigation into a plot to bomb the synagogues in the city of Porto Alegre, spokesmen said on Thursday.

Police seized explosive devices, knives and Nazi literature in the operation.

“I have no doubt that we have aborted a major tragedy,” Paulo Cesar Jardim, an inspector, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. Police said the men belonged to a group, “Neuland,” established in 2002 and comprising about 50 people.

Jardim described the members as “extremely intelligent, well-organized and very dangerous criminals who prey on Jews and gays in the name of racial purity.”