Image via Carolina Antunes/PR (CC)
Brazil’s president is terrorizing another public LGBTQ figure.
Jair Bolsonaro is known for being an enemy to LGBTQ people. He has caused LGBTQ figures to leave the country in fear for their lives, expressed his hatred of gay tourism, and his plans to erase LGBTQ identities and existence in textbooks. Now, he has a gay reporter in his sights after the writer openly opposed him.
This current drama started when Glenn Greenwald, through the Intercept Brazil, reported on the possibility of Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who’s a key member of the President’s Cabinet, improperly consulting with prosecutors while overseeing a corruption investigation. As such, Bolsonaro saw this as an attack on himself and his allies.
Bolsonaro and his team quickly retaliated on the story by stating that Greenwald and his publication were “aligned with criminal hackers.” In addition, Bolsonaro has implied that he may attempt to imprison Greenwald for his reporting.
Bolsonaro made this comment after local media asked at a Saturday military ceremony if Greenwald would be kicked out of Brazil under new rules announced earlier. The new rule states that foreigners could be fast-tracked through the deportation process if they’re considered “dangerous” or in violation of the constitution.
While Greenwald is an American-born citizen, Bolsonaro acknowledged that the reporter is a resident of Brazil who’s married to a Brazillian, legislator David Miranda. But, Bolsonaro then added, “Maybe he will be imprisoned here in Brazil.”
After hearing this statement, Greenwald took to Twitter to share his disgust at the man overreaching for power.
“Contrary to what the president says, he is not (yet) a dictator,’ Greenwald wrote. ‘He doesn’t have the power to order people to stop. To detain someone, you need to present evidence to a court showing that a crime was committed. That evidence does not exist.”
Bolsonaro has yet to comment on Greenwald’s tweet or act further on the issue.
