The Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro has found the director of the Federal Highway Police, Silvinei Vasques, guilty of an administrative offense for asking for a vote for President Jair Bolsonaro during the election campaign for the second round of the presidential runoff.
Vasques, who had been questioned for not having failed to act promptly against the blockades imposed by Bolsonaro’s supporters on highways throughout the country, will now have thirty days to present allegations, reports ‘O Globo’.
The decision of the Rio de Janeiro Justice is a response to the lawsuit filed by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which also requested the immediate dismissal of Vasques for 90 days. However, this request has not been granted since the affected party went on vacation and the judge considers it necessary to hear him first.
«In view of the fact that the general director of the Federal Highway Police is (…) on vacation» until December 6 «I postpone the assessment of the requested precautionary measure» for after his arrival», states the magistrate.
The Prosecutor’s Office claims that Vasques contributed to the «confrontation» between voters during the displacements on the day of the second round of the elections, on October 30, as well as afterwards when the results were announced.
Since the beginning of the elections, Vasques has been using his social networks to explicitly call for votes for Bolsonaro, even going so far as to use symbols and images of the police institution he heads for that purpose.
