The MNFIR became the object of government repression, soon after the antisemitic student Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was arrested on charges of terrorism. Codreanu had attempted to assassinate the staff of "Adevărul", including the Jewish manager Iacob Rosenthal, and, during the interrogations, implicated other fascist alliances. His testimony was disputed by "Vestul României", the pro-fascist newspaper of Timișoara, which claimed: "The attempt [...] is not the work of terrorists, as was quickly proclaimed by some of our colleagues, but the mere revenge of one Sandi Bacaloglu who wished to defend the honor of his sister, that had been compromised by one "Adevărul" article, wherein it had been claimed that Elena Bacaloglu had been convicted for immodesty by the appellate court of Genoa." Several other theories circulate regarding Codreanu's motivation, but it is known that his group of assassins included an FNR man, Teodosie Popescu, and also that the act was celebrated in the FNR media.