New lawsuit accuses Jair Bolsonaro of whale stalking

The target of dozens of lawsuits and investigations ongoing by the courts and the Federal Police over allegations of electoral crimes, which have already disqualified him from participating in elections until 2030 for planning a coup, appropriating state assets and inaction during the Covid-19 pandemic, among other things. In others, former President Jair Bolsonaro is expected to testify on Tuesday on new charges. In this case, the Sao Paulo Ministry of Justice accuses Bolsonaro of persecuting a humpback whale, which is an environmental crime.

In June 2023, Jair Bolsonaro was riding a jet scooter, one of his hobbies, in the sea of ​​San Sebastian, according to an ongoing investigation by the Sao Paulo Federal Police, at whose headquarters the former president is expected to explain himself on Tuesday afternoon. , on the northern coast of Sao Paulo, when, upon seeing a humpback whale, he sped up his jet ski and approached the giant animal. Photos and videos on social media showed the moment the former president and the cetacean became very close, a closeness that apparently did not sit well with the sea giant.

The case against Bolsonaro alleges that while the noisy watercraft’s engine was running, he was about 15 meters from the whale, which, in addition to violating environmental rules, disturbed the animal. The whale, which had previously been swimming calmly, became agitated and began striking the water with its tail and pectoral fin, emphasizing, according to the prosecution, the stress caused by the approach of the former president on his rather noisy motorcycle.

Brazilian environmental legislation protects all species of cetaceans, prohibiting any action that could endanger their lives or harm them in any way. One of the provisions of this law clearly states that it is strictly prohibited to approach anyone within 100 meters of a whale, for example, unless someone is complying with a federal crime.

Through prosecutor Marilia Soares Ferreira Iftin, the Justice Department has intervened in the case and is monitoring the investigation that infuriated the former president. Bolsonaro ridiculed the start of the whale-stalking trial, saying the only whale he doesn’t like is the one who heads the Justice Department, a fatphobic provocation by then-department chief Flavio. Dino, who left office at the beginning of February this year and last week took up the position of judge of the Federal Supreme Court of the STF.