Porta dos Fundos attack: Brazil investigates claims made in viral video

HIGHLIGHTS

• Three masked people in a video have claimed responsibility for the attack on Porta dos Fundos headquarters.
• They said the attack was carried out to protest against The First Temptation of Christ program on Netflix.

A video on social media in Brazil shows three masked people claiming they carried out a gasoline bomb attack to protest a Christmas program on Netflix that some critics have described as blasphemous. A man in the video, whose voice is digitally altered, says the Christmas Eve attack on a video production house in Rio de Janeiro targeted Brazilian humorist group Porta dos Fundos for its Portuguese-language program.

The man claims to speak for a group he calls the Command of Popular National Insurgence. The video, which was circulating on Thursday, also shows three people throwing gasoline bombs into the building. There were no injuries in the overnight attack and a security guard extinguished the flames, according to Porta dos Fundos. Police are investigating.

The comedy group's short film, called The First Temptation of Christ, depicts Jesus returning home on his 30th birthday and insinuates he is gay. Religious groups bristled at the depiction. An online petition that was launched in Brazil called for the film to be banned and drew more than 2 million signatures.

Porta dos Fundos has defended its film. "The country will survive this torment of hatred, and love will prevail together with freedom of expression," the group said on Twitter.