Rio de Janeiro.- A farmer accused of having threatened to shoot the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, He was arrested this Thursday by the Federal Police in Pará, an Amazon state that the progressive leader plans to visit starting Friday, police sources reported.
The rural owner was arrested in Santarém, a municipality through which the president will begin a visit to Pará that will conclude on Wednesday of next week with his participation in the Summit of heads of state of the Amazon countries in Belém, the regional capital.
The Federal Police reported in a statement that the defendant was arrested on Thursday afternoon after making the threats on Wednesday and after two witnesses filed the complaint.
According to the statement, at the time when he was buying beers in a bar in Santarém, “The man would have said that he would shoot the president in the stomach and asked those present if they knew where (the president) would stay during his visit to the municipality.”
The note adds that, after being arrested, the suspect confessed that he participated in the coup attempt on January 8, when thousands of followers of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the offices of the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court in an attempt to force a blow against Lula.
He said that he also participated for 60 days in a camp in front of a military barracks in Santarém to ask the Army to intervene to prevent Lula from assuming the Presidency and that he financed said demonstration with a daily contribution of 1,000 reais (about 203 dollars or 185 euros). adds the statement.
“The suspect may answer for the crimes of threat and incitement and preparation of an attack against authority for political reasons,” said the Federal Police.
According to press reports, the detained farmer, identified as André Luiz Teixeira da Silva, is also being investigated for the invasion of public lands in the Amazon and for its deforestation, and has already worked as an illegal miner in the region.
Although he did not specifically refer to the arrest, the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, affirmed on his social networks that the authorities will continue to detain people who threaten authorities.
“Even after the failure of the coup acts on January 8, there are still people who threaten to kill or physically attack authorities of the powers of the Republic,” said the minister.
“That is not ‘freedom of expression’ and the Federal Police will continue to apply the law against criminals. I renew the calls for people to protest peacefully and wait for the 2026 elections,” Dino added.
