Michelle and Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasilia on July 29, 2020. – Eraldo Peres / AP / SIPA
Nothing stops the president of Brazil and even less the restraint usually imposed by his function. Jair Bolsonaro, known for his outspokenness, once again made a controversial statement on Sunday. The head of state threatened to physically attack a journalist who questioned him about checks for $ 22,000 his wife allegedly received from a senator in the heart of a case of alleged embezzlement of salaries.
On the sidelines of a visit to a cathedral
“I want to shut your mouth with my fists,” replied the far-right president to a question asked by a journalist fromOr Balloon on press reports relating to Michelle Bolsonaro and a former adviser to her son Flavio. Jair Bolsonaro, who was speaking on the sidelines of a visit to the Cathedral of Brasilia, was subsequently revived by the journalists present on the spot on this menace but left without commenting further.
The words of the Head of State were immediately denounced by the editorial staff ofOr Balloon who in a statement emphasizes that the journalist was only doing his job. “Such intimidation shows that Jair Bolsonaro does not respect the duty of any civil servant, whatever his position, to be accountable to the population”, writes the daily.
The president’s son in turmoil
The question asked by the journalist referred to the magazine’s revelations Crusoe who claimed this month that Fabricio Queiroz, a retired police officer, friend of Jair Bolsonaro and former advisor to Flavio Bolsonaro, deposited 21 checks for 72,000 reals (about $ 22,000 at the 2016 exchange rate) to Michelle Bolsonaro between 2011 and 2016. Fabricio Queiroz, as well as Flavio Bolsonaro, are under investigation for alleged embezzlement of salaries of officials in the office of the president’s son during his tenure as regional deputy in Rio de Janeiro.
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