Brazil Police arrest one, raid another over Lula threats before summit
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Two men have been already detained for threatening to kill or harm President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
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Brazil’s President Lula da Silva speaks before a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at EU headquarters in Brussels, July 17, 2023. (AP)
Brazilian Police said Friday they detained a man for saying he had plans to kill President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and they carried out a raid against another one for an online threat made against the left-wing leader.
Both incidents occurred in the northern state of Para, where Lula will arrive later on Friday and hold a conference of South American leaders on saving the Amazon rainforest the following week.
According to federal police, they detained a guy in Santarem when he entered a store to purchase beverages on Wednesday and declared his intention to "shoot the president in the stomach."
"He reportedly asked those present if they knew where (Lula) was staying when he traveled to the city," police said in a statement.
The man was detained on Thursday after a witness called the police.
Police reported that the man admitted to taking part in the disturbances on January 8 in Brasilia, which were started by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. He claimed to be a farmer and a former scavenger gold miner, police said.
They also revealed that he admitted to breaking into the heavily damaged Green Room in Congress on that particular day when a mob of far-right hardliners stormed the building, the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn Bolsonaro's defeat to 77-year-old political veteran Lula.
In order to look into offenses, including a potential assassination plot, they raided two residences connected to the man on Friday.
Police further revealed that they conducted another operation in Belem, the state capital, where Lula will host the summit the following week and where they were looking for a man accused of posting "threatened images of attacks against the president" on social media.
They claimed that the security guard suspect is in possession of a gun.
Brazil is still on high alert for political violence due to the country's intense polarization following Bolsonaro's defeat by Lula in last year's elections.
