BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian federal police raided the home of a nephew of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday in connection with the Jan. 1 attack. 8 assault on government buildings in the capital by far-right protesters.
Police said Leonardo Rodrigues de Jesus, known to Bolsonaro supporters as Leo Índio, was one of the targets of a series of raids that led to 11 arrests in different states. It was the first time that a member of Bolsonaro’s family has been included in the investigations of the Brasilia uprising, underscoring the political polarization in Brazil.
The police said that those investigated could be tried for crimes against democracy and criminal association.
De Jesus posted his photo near the entrance to the Congress building on social media on the day of the uprising. Bolsonaro’s nephew later accused leftists of infiltrating the protest to attack government buildings. Police investigations have found no evidence to support this claim.
De Jesús is close to one of Bolsonaro’s sons, Carlos Bolsonaro, a Rio de Janeiro city councilor. The two often appeared together at the presidential palace in Brasilia when the far-right president was in office. His visits were kept secret by the Bolsonaro administration after criticism from the opposition.
Carlos Bolsonaro is the former president’s head of digital operations and a key member of Bolsonaro’s failed reelection.
De Jesús was one of Carlos Bolsonaro’s aides in Rio and moved to Brasilia in 2019. He joined a senator’s cabinet team and then Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party caucus as an adviser in the Senate. He was later fired after local media revealed that he was a “ghost employee”, someone who did not show up for work but was still paid for the position.
In 2022, he ran as a councilor for the Federal District but did not gather enough votes.
De Jesús has been under investigation by Rio de Janeiro judicial authorities since 2021, when it was alleged that he received money transfers from the cabinet of one of Bolsonaro’s sons, Flavio, when he was on the municipal council. Public money was also allegedly used to pay De Jesús’s rent.
The Supreme Court had already requested De Jesús’ preventive arrest in connection with the January 1 case. 8 attacks, but the police said that he had not been arrested yet. De Jesús can appeal that order, but he declared lack of funds to pay his lawyer’s costs.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva guaranteed in a meeting with the state governors that what happened on January 1st. 8 will not happen again, calling it a coup attempt
