Police: NAKA Uncovers Group Planning Terrorist Attack at Rainbow Pride

Bratislava, July 18 (TASR) - The National Crime Agency (NAKA) has uncovered a dangerous and growing group in the fight against terrorism and extremism, spokesman for the Police Corps Presidium Roman Hajek told TASR on Thursday, adding that it has also recorded communications regarding the planning of a terrorist attack on the participants of the Rainbow Pride festival. According to the police, the group created channels and chat groups on various internet platforms where people from across Europe, the US and Russia communicated. "These channels were used to spread neo-Nazi symbolism, hate speech and incitement to violence or terrorist attacks. In particular, members of various minorities, such as Muslims, Jews, migrants and people from the LGBTI+ community, should have been targeted," said Hajek. The planning of the terrorist attack at Rainbow Pride led to police cooperation between several European countries and the USA within Europol. On the basis of this coordinated activity, several raids have been carried out in the past week in various European countries, including Slovakia. "We've detained suspects and carried out house searches. Our actions were aimed at dismantling the entire group," stated the police. The police declare that they will increase their activities during the entire course of the 14th Rainbow Pride on Saturday (July 20) in Bratislava, stressing that any attempts to assault participants will be monitored and severely prosecuted. The Police Corps calls on all people to cooperate and follow the instructions during the festival. "The safety of all participants is our top priority," added Hajek. am/mcs