Prosecutor's Office in Rio requests removal of PRF general director for 90 days

The document cites the “clear intention” of promoting “true party political propaganda and personal promotion of authority for electoral purposes”.

The MPF lists interviews and speeches by the head of Federal Highway Police at official events that, in the opinion of prosecutor Eduardo Benones, associated his image with the “PRF institution” and the president during the electoral period. The action also cites the use of “symbols” and the corporation’s image to favor the Bolsonarista campaign.

Head of the PRF has already been accused of bribery and the case expired before being tried

The current director general of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, a Bolsonaro supporter ordered by the courts to unblock highways, has already been accused of participating in a scheme to charge bribes to car towing companies that operated on BRs 101 and 280, in Santa Catarina, in the late 1990s. The Federal Public Ministry's (MPF) complaint was based on statements and bank statements obtained through breaches of confidentiality. The case, however, expired, without the merits having been assessed by the Court.

The Rio Prosecutor's Office recalls that Vasques even asked for votes for Bolsonaro on social media on the eve of the second round. The body argues that the episode cannot be “separated” from the “climate of instability and confrontation created during the movement of voters on the day of the second round of elections and after the official release of the result by the TSE”.

“The successive acts carried out by the defendant, especially the request to 'Vote 22 – Bolsonaro President' on the eve of the second round of the election, in addition to constituting an electoral offense, are important in recognizing the illicit use of the most important position in the hierarchy of the Federal Highway Police , to favor a certain candidate, violating the principles of legality, impersonality and morality to death”, says an excerpt from the administrative improbity action for alleged violation of the principles of legality and impersonality.

A PRF approached vehicles on the day of the second round, even after the Electoral Court prohibited operations related to the transport of voters, which led the Federal Public Ministry to open an investigation to investigate Vasques' conduct. The investigation will also analyze whether there was a deliberate delay in demobilizing the Bolsonaro protests on the highways that blocked federal roads after Bolsonaro's defeat.

Federal Police opens investigation to investigate director general of the PRF regarding coup blockades

The Federal Police opened an investigation this Thursday (10) to investigate the stance of the general director of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, in the face of the Bolsonarist demonstrations. The objective is to determine whether the corporation – under Vasques' command – committed abuses with operations in the second round of the election and also whether agents were omitted in the face of roadblocks carried out by coup protesters.

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