Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday threatened to punch a reporter repeatedly in the mouth after being asked about his wife ’ s links to an alleged corruption scheme.
“ I so want to pound your mouth with punches , ” the far - right president said when a reporter from O Globo, posed the question .
The reporter was part of a group that met Bolsonaro after his regular Sunday visit to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasilia . The president ignored protests from other journalists after the remarks and left without making further comments .
The O Globo reporter asked about a report in the magazine Crusoe linking First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro to FabrÃcio Queiroz, a retired police officer, friend of the president , and former adviser to her son Flavio Bolsonaro , who is now a senator .
Queiroz and Flavio Bolsonaro are under investigation for a scheme that allegedly swindled pay from government employees when the younger Bolsonaro was a regional lawmaker in Rio de Janeiro , and before Jair Bolsonaro became president in January 2019 .
According to the magazine , Queiroz deposited funds in Michelle Bolsonaro’ s bank account between 2011 and 2016 .
The first lady has said nothing about the case.
Soon after the president ’ s outburst O Globo issued a statement repudiating his “ aggression … towards a journalist from our newspaper that was carrying out his job in a professional manner. ”
Such intimidation “ shows that Jair Bolsonaro does not acknowledge the duty of a public servant … to be accountable to the public . ”
( AFP )
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