Pandemic probe: Brazil police raid Rio governor's residence

[Judi Lynn]

Marcelo De Sousa and Diane Jeantet, Associated Press
Updated 5:01 pm CDT, Tuesday, May 26, 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian police targeted a staunch opponent of President Jair Bolsonaro's push to lift measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in one of the world's disease hot spots, searching the residence of the Rio de Janeiro state governor on Tuesday.

The federal prosecutor´s office said in a statement that Gov. Wilson Witzel, a former federal judge, was personally targeted by the 12 search and seizure warrants in Rio and Sao Paulo states. An ongoing investigation pointed to irregularities in contracts awarded for the construction of emergency field hospitals in Rio, and involved health officials, police said in a statement.

. . .

“An act of political persecution is beginning in this country,” Witzel told reporters. “What happened to me will happen to other governors considered to be enemies.”

. . .

Bolsonaro has openly challenged many governors’ measures for containing the virus' spread, with Witzel a primary target. The Brazilian leader has accused governors of inciting panic among the population with what he claims are excessive stay-at-home recommendations and restrictions on commerce that he says will wreck the economy and produce worse hardship than the virus.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Brazil-police-searches-Rio-de-Janeiro-governor-s-15294506.php

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