Federal Police go after men suspected of threatening Lula as president heads north

Federal Police on Friday conducted a search and seizure warrant against a man suspected of spreading what they called “threatening images of attacks” against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The operation took place in the Amazon city of Belém, which Lula will visit next week for a summit of eight Amazonian countries.

In a statement, the Federal Police added that the operation was aimed at gathering evidence and “avoiding the possibility of an attack on the president, as the suspect works professionally as a security guard and carries a firearm.”

Separately, the Federal Police arrested yesterday in the city of Santarém a man suspected of making threats against Lula. According to the investigation, the man told people in a store that he would shoot Lula “in the belly” and asked people if they knew where Lula would be staying in the city. The man told police he was a farmer, and that he had previously worked as a miner.

Lula left Brasília this Friday morning and is expected to arrive in Santarém early in the early afternoon.

Both Belém and Santarém, which are more than 1,300 kilometers apart, are cities in the state of Pará, Brazil’s second largest by area and the leader in Amazon deforestation rankings for several years.

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