SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – The former head of Brazil’s Federal Highway Police was arrested yesterday in an investigation of interference in the 2022 presidential election runoff, a Supreme Court decision showed.
During the October vote, highway police carried out operations and roadblocks in northeastern Brazil that delayed the arrival of some voters to polling stations.
At the time there were allegations by people in the region that the highway police were suppressing votes, potentially benefiting then-President Jair Bolsonaro in a stronghold of rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula went on to win the Oct. 30 runoff election.
The arrest of former chief Silvinei Vasques was made after Justice Alexandre de Moraes accepted a request by the Federal Police as part of a probe started on Wednesday into the use of state resources to interfere in the runoff.
“Federal Highway Police directed human and material resources to hinder the transit of voters,” a police statement said. There had been increased patrolling in the northeast of Brazil, it said.
The Superior Electoral Court, Brazil’s top electoral authority, had to order the removal of the roadblocks to avoid disrupting the election. Moraes, who was the head of the court, said at the time that roadblocks had not prevented anyone from voting.
The potential crimes under investigation include attempting to prevent or disrupt voting, political violence, and malfeasance, the police statement said.