Brazilian law enforcement personnel raided former President Jair Bolsonaro's villa in relation to alleged spying conducted by his son on political opponents.
The Monday raid included properties linked to Carlon Bolsonaro, who is a Rio de Janeiro city councilor who is already facing a Supreme Court investigation. That particular probe is for allegedly running a fake news factory from within the presidential palace.
The former Brazilian president's son has denied any wrongdoing and did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the raid on Monday. The police operation was ordered by the top court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The search of the younger Bolsonaro's properties marks a sharp escalation in the fast-moving illegal spying probe. It also shows how the investigation into the crime has already reached the former president's inner circle.
Bolsonaro, who has already been ruled politically ineligible until 2030 in relation to his conduct during his unsuccessful re-election run in 2022, faces multiple legal challenges that could land him in prison, as per Reuters.
A spokeswoman for the Bolsonaro family, Fabio Wajngarten, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Bolsonaro and his sons were not present at their beach house during the police raid. They were allegedly gone for a fishing trip and left early in the morning before police showed up to search the property.
Wasjngarten also denied reports that police seized a mobile phone and laptops that belonged to the younger Bolsonaro who is part of the investigation. The federal police are looking into accusations of illegal monitoring of citizens by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) during the former president's 2019 to 2022 term.
Law enforcement authorities served eight warrants on Monday in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, and two other cities. They were to identify the "main recipients and beneficiaries of information illegally produced by Abin through clandestine actions."
Alleged Spying on Political Opponents
The former Brazilian president has been staying at the raided villa along with his three sons, who all have roles in the country's political world. The other two are Eduardo and Flavio Bolsonaro, according to The Guardian.
Furthermore, Bolsonaro's former intelligence chief, Alexandre Ramagem, was the one who ran Abin during the former president's reign. He also had his home and offices searched by law enforcement personnel last Thursday as part of the criminal case.
One of the accusations against Ramagem is that when he was running Abin, he was involved in a "criminal organization" that used Israeli spyware to track Bolsonaro's political opponents. Law enforcement officials also suspect that intelligence material was produced by members of a "parallel" intelligence agency in order to benefit members of the Bolsonaro clan.
Police statements and Supreme Court documents showed that law enforcement authorities were probing the so-called "organized crime" group that operated during Bolsonaro's presidency. The group is believed to have tried to interfere with ongoing police investigations.
The statement on Monday released by police noted that the latest operation was trying to advance the political side of the investigation. It was to figure out exactly who the illegally produced information would support, said Fox News.
Related Article:
