Bolsonaro's Ally Is Charged with Attempted Quadruple Murder

Bolsonaro and his campaign try to distance themselves from the ex-deputy and ally who attacked policemen with rifles and grenades

São Paulo and Brasília

Former deputy Roberto Jefferson (PTB), an ally of President Jair Bolsonaro, arrested in the act on Sunday (23) after attacking police officers with grenades and about 50 rifle shots, was indicted on suspicion of quadruple attempted murder.

The Federal Police seized at his home in the city of Comendador Levy Gasparian (RJ) ammunition of various calibers and a rifle used by him against the police.

RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ, 24-10-2022 - Ex-deputy Roberto Jefferson will answer for attempted quadruple murder (Foto:Reprodução/TV Globo )

Two of the six agents who were serving an arrest warrant issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), were injured by shrapnel and sent to a hospital, and were discharged on the same day.

Bolsonaro and his advisers have spent the last two days trying to detach themselves from their bond with Jefferson and convert the episode into a gesture of support for the Federal Police.

The case involving the far-right politician, a defendant in a criminal action for inciting crime and attacking institutions, has become a point of wear and tear in Bolsonaro's campaign only days before the second round against Lula.

Opponents associate the incident with the president's stimulus to violence against institutions.

Translated by Cassy Dias

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