A Brazilian politician and ally of President Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after firing a rifle and throwing grenades at police officers who came to his home to arrest him. No one died in the incident and the president has tried to distance himself from the politician.
On Sunday, a former deputy from Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Jefferson, fired more than 20 rounds and threw two grenades at four police officers who were executing an arrest warrant at his home in Rio de Janeiro. The ex-MP was barricaded at home and after eight hours of negotiations, he handed himself over to the authorities.
A police chief and a female officer were reportedly injured in the attack but are expected to survive.
At the time of the incident, Jefferson, 69, a staunch supporter of Bolsonaro, was under house arrest for what the Federal Supreme Court deemed attacks on Brazilian democracy.
He was first arrested in August 2021 for videos and social media posts in which he attacked and threatened public officials, but due to his age and health problems, Jefferson was allowed to serve house arrest.
The conditions of his house arrest, however, stipulated that the former MP could not use social media or spread misinformation on his accounts and was not allowed to threaten Supreme Court judges.
According to the courts, he breached this a day before the police raid when he released a video in which he called Supreme Court judge Carmen Lúcia, 68, a “prostitute” and “witch” after disagreeing with one of her decisions.
Reaction across Brazil
The shooting angered many Brazilians. Associations affiliated with the Federal Police issued statements against Jefferson’s attack. Senators also criticized the episode and many Brazilians complained on social media.
President Bolsonaro has since tried to distance himself from the former lawmaker, releasing a video on social media in which he called Jefferson a “criminal” and criticized the attack on police officers.
Despite the president’s claims that they did not exist, photos of Jefferson and the president have circulated online, including one of the two politicians attending an official meeting at the Palácio do Planalto, the president’s official workplace, in 2021, which was distributed by the local press. .
Jefferson and Bolsonaro have been colleagues for quite some time; in 2020, Jefferson even called Bolsonaro a “personal friend”.
The two men served in the Chamber of Deputies together and were members of the Workers’ Party of Brazil (PTB) when Bolsonaro belonged to the party from 2003 to 2005.
Jefferson, whose grandfather formed the PTB in the 1940s, served as party leader from 1983 until 2005, when he lost his term after uncovering a cash-for-votes scheme in which the government of then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reportedly paid MPs for their support of the government. The case became known as “Mensalão” and was one of the biggest scandals in Lula’s administration.
After the attack, Jefferson was charged with four counts of attempted murder, and if convicted he could serve more than 20 years in prison. He remains in police custody.
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