Bahia Governor Claims His Administration Does Not “Bond” with Criminals

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The governor of Bahia, Rui Costa (Workers’ Party – PT), said on Saturday afternoon, February 15th, on his Twitter account, that the Bahian government “does not keep ties of friendship or pay tribute to criminals or those sought by justice”.

On the social media, the governor further said that the State “will never tolerate militia or criminals” and that police officers have the right to protect their own lives when attacked, “even if the criminals have friendship bonds with the Presidency”.

The statement was made in two posts, in reference to remarks made earlier by President Jair Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro, who accused the “police of Bahia, the PT,” for the death of militiaman Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega, Captain Adriano, last Sunday in the municipality of Esplanada, 170 km from Salvador.

In 2005, then state deputy and now Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the President’s eldest son, awarded the Tiradentes Medal, the highest decoration in the Rio Legislative Assembly, to the militiaman. Flávio’s office also employed Adriano’s mother and wife.