BRASILIA (TIP): Brazil’s Federal Police searched former President Jair Bolsonaro’s home and seized his phone May 3 in what they said was an investigation into the alleged falsification of COVID-19 vaccine cards. Several other locations also were searched and a half dozen people faced arrest, police said.
The former president confirmed the search of his residence while speaking with reporters, as did his wife, Michelle, on her Instagram account.
A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said Bolsonaro would be questioned at Federal Police headquarters and confirmed that one of his closest allies, Mauro Cid, was arrested.
Asked about the search of Bolsonaro’s home, the Federal Police’s press office provided a statement saying officers were carrying out 16 searches and six arrests in Rio de Janeiro related to the introduction of fraudulent data related to the COVID-19 vaccine into the nation’s health system. The statement didn’t name Bolsonaro or Cid.
Local media reported that the vaccine cards of Bolsonaro, his advisers and his family members were altered. The police statement said the investigation focused on cards altered in order to comply with U.S. vaccine requirements to enter the country.
“There was no adulteration on my part, it didn’t happen,” Bolsonaro told reporters after the search. “I didn’t take the vaccine, period. I never denied that.” In an interview for Jovem Pan television, Bolsonaro said his vaccination records were not required for any of his trips to the U.S.
“The way heads of state are treated is different than for the common citizen. Everything is arranged ahead of time, and in my travels to the United States, I was not at any time required to have a vaccination card,” Bolsonaro said. Bolsonaro visited the U.S. at least three times after it began generally requiring in November 2021 that non-citizens be fully vaccinated to enter. He went in June 2022 for the Summit of the Americas, September 2022 for the U.N. General Assembly and last December after he left office for a stay in Florida.
The investigation raises questions about whether falsified vaccine information might have been included in documentation for any members of the former president’s entourage during those trips.
During the pandemic, Bolsonaro spent months sowing doubt about the efficacy of the vaccine and defiantly refusing to get a shot.(AP)