Brazil: Lawmaker Gets 'Sick' Death Threats for Lula Exposé Written by His Partner

A lawmaker from Brazil's Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) and LGBT activist David Miranda denounced an email Wednesday he received from a paramilitary group threatening his mother with death and extorting him for a sum of US$10,000. The email also made reference to the murder of Rio lawmaker Marielle Franco.

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"This is just one of the emails I have received. We aren't showing everything it contains because it's one of the worst things someone can read. The person who wrote it is sick and is out there," Miranda said and stated he had already opened a criminal inquiry to the Federal Police in March.

This new threat comes on the heels of a hard-hitting story published June 9 by the international media outlet The Intercept and written in part by journalist Glenn Greenwald, Miranda's partner. The information in the story exposed how Judge Sergio Moro's partiality influenced the legal proceedings against former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Moro is currently Justice Minister in President Jair Bolsonaro's administration.

"We're going to blow her head off," the email threatens and adds that "remember, we did not leave any forensic evidence in [the murder of] Marielle Franco — such a skinny black hen."

"For those who are still cynical or have doubts about why Jean Wyllys left Brazil: these emails are more disgusting and horrible than you can imagine. Very detailed and private information, graphic and grotesque threats. Hatred is distorted beyond what is human. On May 1, an email with threats and extortion attempts to lawmaker David Miranda. Advisers see a similarity to what was sent to former lawmaker Jean Wyllis, who resigned after being threatened. "

Miranda belongs to the same party as the late Marielle Franco, an Afro-Brazilian lesbian feminist, and socialist politician who stood firmly against state-sponsored racism and violence in Rio de Janeiro. She was shot to death in March 2018 by a criminal gang which has been linked by police investigations to the Bolsonaro family.

Apparently signed by a well-known paramilitary group in Rio de Janeiro, the email Miranda received also demanded US$10,000 in bitcoins be sent by the end of June to avoid his mother's killing.

According to security advisors, there are similarities between this message and emails sent to Jean Wyllis, another PSOL Federal congressman in the state of Rio de Janeiro, forced to abandon his office due to death threats made in January — the vacancy Miranda filled.

Greenwald, speculating on what effect the information divulged by The Intercept would have, said Wednesday there is a good chance that Brazil's Supreme Court will comment on the ruling condemning the Worker's Party leader Lula da Silva as based on false information and should be reversed.