Twitter blocks accounts of followers of Jair Bolsonaro 0:26
(CNN) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was caught on camera threatening to hit a reporter in the mouth, while speaking outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasilia on Sunday.
Bolsonaro was visiting the Cathedral when a group of reporters greeted him outside the temple. The president was seen on video threatening an O Globo reporter, after being asked about alleged family corruption. The journalist was seeking comments from the president about alleged deposits made by a former adviser to the president's eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, into a bank account allegedly belonging to the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro.
The president was standing just a few steps from the Cathedral and told the reporter on Sunday: "I want to hit you in the mouth, okay?"
In early August, the Brazilian magazine Crusóe published a report stating that the former adviser to Bolsonaro's eldest son, Fabrício Queiroz, transferred around US $ 12,600 (R $ 72,000) in checks to Michelle Bolsonaro between 2011 and 2016. Queiroz is currently under house arrest as a result of an ongoing alleged corruption investigation involving Bolsonaro's son. President Bolsonaro has not commented on these latest accusations.
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The Bolsonaro family faces several investigations, including an alleged scheme involving Flavio Bolsonaro in the Legislative Assembly of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian Supreme Court also opened an investigation into Bolsonaro's other two sons, Carlos and Eduardo, for allegedly spreading false news on the internet. Other investigations include the alleged participation of the family in protests and the alleged interference in the appointment of the director of the Federal Police of Rio de Janeiro to stop the investigations against Queiroz.
O Globo, one of Brazil's leading news companies, condemned Bolsonaro's threats against the journalist in a statement, published on Sunday, hours after the incident. "GLOBO repudiates President Jair Bolsonaro's aggression against a newspaper reporter who was doing his job performing his role in a totally professional manner," the statement said.
The National Association of Journalists of Brazil also issued a statement. “It is regrettable that once again the president reacts aggressively and without fear to a question from a journalist. This attitude in no way contributes to the democracy and freedom of the press provided for in the Constitution, ”the statement said.
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Sunday's incident also drew strong criticism from Bolsonaro's detractors. Alessandro Molon, legislator of the state of Rio de Janeiro, tweeted: “What is expected of a president is that he behaves at the height of his position. Threats to the press are threats to democracy itself. Molon also accused Bolsonaro in the same tweet of trying to hide "his participation in a criminal plan."
When CNN asked President Bolsonaro's office about Sunday's incident, its spokesperson declined to comment.
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