Brazil's Bolsonaro threatens journalist, says 'I so want to pound your mouth with punches'

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on August 23 reportedly threatened an international media reporter and said that he wanted to ‘pound punches’ in his mouth. According to reports, Bolsonaro got angry after being asked about his wife’s link to an alleged corruption scheme. The far-right president said he wants to ‘pound your mouth with punches’ after a reporter from O Globo posed the question. 

The Brazilian President threatened the reporter after his regular Sunday visit to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasilia. The reporter was part of a group that met Bolsonaro after his Church visit. As per reports, the president ignored protests from other journalists after the remarks and left without making further comments. 

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Alleged corruption scheme 

The reporter asked about a report in the magazine ‘Crusoe’ linking Brazil’s First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro to Fabricio Queiroz and Flavio Bolsonaro. While Queiroz is a retired police officer and friend of the President, Flavio is the former adviser to President’s son and now a senator. 

Both the officials are currently under investigation for a scheme that allegedly swindled pay from government employees when the President’s younger son was a regional lawmaker in Rio de Janeiro and before Jair Bolsonaro became President in January 2019. 

The Magazine, in its report, had mentioned that Queiroz deposited funds in Michelle Bolsonaro’s bank account between 2011 and 2016. After the president’s outburst, O Globo also reportedly issued a statement repudiating Bolsonaro’s ‘aggression’ towards a journalist, who was simply carrying out his job in a professional manner. The media outlet further also said that such intimidation from the president shows that he does not acknowledge the duty of a public servant.

(Image: AP)

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