Corruption in Brazil: Ex-vice chancellor blocks himself, shoots and throws grenades at police

Former Vice Chancellor Roberto JeffersonAssociate of the President Jair Bolsonaro The man, who was under house arrest, turned himself in after hours of siege at his home this Sunday, a case that has left Brazilian society on edge. A week before polling.

The controversial former lawmaker opened fire and threw at least one hand grenade at police. Two officers were injured.

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“As I determined with Justice Minister Anderson Torres, Roberto Jefferson is currently under arrest And it’s thugs who shoot police officers. I offer my solidarity to the police officers injured in the episode,” Bolsonaro confirmed in a video.

The cops went looking for Jefferson to take him to jail for breaking the rules of his detention. The judge ordered the move Alexandre de MoraesPresident of the Federal Supreme Court and Election Tribunal, Report Globo.

Jefferson was an ally of Lula in the past and benefited from a corruption scandal during the left-wing former president’s government, for which he was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Who was Roberto Jefferson, the controversial Brazilian politician who defended himself to avoid arrest?

Jefferson was the top leader of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB). He tried to be a far-right candidate in these elections, but he was arrested Attacks democracyHis place as a candidate was taken in the first round by the priest Father Kelman.

“I’m not going to surrenderIt’s ridiculous, I’ve been subjected to tyranny, and I’m going to confront them,” Jefferson said in videos on his Twitter account from his home in the town of Comandador Levi Casparian, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro. , before turning himself in.

The federal police obeyed Moraes’ command and when they arrived at the house they were shot.

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Bolsonaro sent his justice minister. Anderson TorresWent to Jefferson’s house and rejected the former spouse’s approach.

Jefferson was arrested in August 2021 at the behest of Moraes in the framework of a mega-trial to investigate a criminal organization to attack democracy, specifically calling for the ex-deputies and the military to conspire and overturn the Supreme Court.

He also became famous for recording a video with two revolvers threatening to kill the Chinese ambassador to Brazil. According to Moraes, Jefferson achieved home freedom with an agreement not to use social media or commit new crimes.

Why did Robert Jefferson violate the terms of his parole?

Jefferson called “outside“y”dragged on” to the STF judge this Saturday Carmen Lucia Antunes Because of his participation in the condemnation of the Jovan Bahn news network for spreading false information in the campaign.

Lula, at a press conference in São Paulo, attributed her reaction to Bolsonaro’s behavior during his presidency.

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“He not only exchanged shots but he threw a grenade, they told me; We’ve never seen such a variation in a single campaign, formed part of the fanatical community my enemy founded, hateful, liar, and spread fake news regardless of whether the son sees or hears his lie; This constitutes Jefferson’s behavior,” Lula declared.

The politician was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2013 for admitting it Beneficiated from a corruption case in the government of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was also an ally..

He was pardoned and released in 2016, but the suspension of his political rights remains in effect. In 2019, Jefferson reached out to Bolsonaro and buried the center-left history of the Democratic Workers Party, which he still heads, to join the far-right.