Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is in critical situation after being stabbed at a campaign rally.
Bolsonaro, 63, was stabbed within the metropolis of Juiz de Fora, about 200km north of Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday. Police have arrested the unidentified attacker, who claimed to be performing on orders from God.
Bolsonaro underwent emergency surgical procedure for a wound within the stomach and is predicted to recuperate, hospital officials informed reporters.
Videos shared on social media showed Bolsonaro, whose agenda contains cracking down on crime in Latin America’s largest nation, being carried via a crowd by his supporters when he’s all of a sudden stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his abdomen.
A witness informed police the attacker held a knife wrapped up in a shirt and attacked Bolsonaro because the group hoisting him walked by.
The attacker was arrested immediately. He was recognized as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, 40, and stated to be a member of the left-leaning PSOL celebration from 2007 to 20014.
After his arrest, Bispo de Oliveira stated he was “carrying out a divine mission, a mission from God,” stated Luis Boundens, head of a union of federal law enforcement officials.
Authorities are investigating the suspect’s psychological health, he added.
Bolsonaro, a former military man and lawmaker, has been criticized for outbursts deemed racist, mysogynist and homophobic.
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Bispo de Oliveira acted “for religious reasons, for political reasons, and also because of the prejudice Bolsonaro has always shown when he talks about race, religion and even women,” stated his lawyer, Pedro Augusto Lima Possa.
On his Fb web page, the attacker not too long ago posted messages criticizing Bolsonaro and supporting the socialist authorities of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.