Bolsonarism and Nazi Symbols: who is the man who threatened the President of Brazil

By Fabyo Cruz – From Cenarium

BELÉM (PA) – App driver Manoel dos Santos Ferreira Junior, 31, is under investigation by the Federal Police (PF) on suspicion of threatening President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) during the politician’s visit to Belém, the capital of Pará. In addition to statements published on social media, the report exclusively discovered that the suspect displays stickers on his motorcycle associated with Nazism, including the inscription “Luftwaffe”—the name of the German Air Force during Adolf Hitler’s regime—and the Iron Cross, a military decoration awarded by the Third Reich.

On February 12, the PF executed a search and seizure warrant against Manoel Júnior, authorized by the Federal Court, which also imposed precautionary measures, such as the use of an electronic ankle monitor and a prohibition on approaching locations where Lula is present. The decision was made during the president’s visit to Pará last week, where he participated in the handover of housing from the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program and inspected the construction sites for the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2025 (COP30).

Before Lula’s arrival in Belém, Manoel Júnior—using the name “Júnior Sanches”—posted threatening messages against the president on social media. In one post, he wrote: “This time, I’ll get close. Lula will regret being born. I will rid Brazil of this guy; I’ll go to jail but I’ll be happy.” In a photo, the suspect appears wearing a shirt of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The content posted prompted the PF to launch an investigation into incitement to violence against the head of the Executive. For the authorities, the statements were considered a real threat to Lula’s integrity, especially in a context of growing political radicalization in the country.

Nazi Reference

A source close to the suspect told CENARIUM that Manoel Júnior has a history of extremist online publications and aligns with far-right ideologies. “He has always shown a radical political stance, says he is a Bolsonaro supporter, and liked displaying those stickers on his motorcycle. There were others with Nazi references, but he removed them,” they stated.

The report located the suspect’s vehicle in the municipality of Ananindeua, in the Metropolitan Region of Belém (RMB). On the front fender of the motorcycle, a Honda CB250F Twister, there is a sticker with the inscription Luftwaffe and another with the Iron Cross, both references to Nazism. The vehicle also had marks and residue on its body, suggesting that other stickers had been recently removed.

The journalistic investigation found that Manoel Júnior follows Nazi-related content on social media. Among the monitored profiles is the Instagram account “Luftwaffe Supplies,” specializing in selling clothing and military items from the Nazi Era. Although the website does not clearly state the country of origin, the use of euro-based pricing suggests the company may be based or operate in Europe.

The store presents itself as a space for “history enthusiasts” and claims its products are solely for historical, collectible, and reenactment purposes. Experts warn that this type of business often serves as a front for the spread of extremist ideologies.

Historical Connection

Historian Tunai Rehm, a PhD professor in the Social History of the Amazon Program at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), who researches topics related to World War II in Pará, commented on the use of such symbols and warned about the rise of Nazi glorification in Brazil.

“This symbol belongs to the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany. The Luftwaffe was disbanded in 1945 with the end of World War II and the fall of the Nazi regime. Now, why is this individual using this symbol on his motorcycle? That is a relevant question. The Federal Police has been investigating an increase in crimes related to Nazi glorification in Brazil,” said the researcher. “The reason for this growth is not entirely clear, but it is possible that the internet has facilitated the sharing and spread of extremist ideas, including antisemitic and racist thoughts, which persist in society,” he added.

For Rehm, social media has enormous potential to spread information, whether true or not. He explains that, even after the fall of Nazism, this ideology still survives. “Often, individuals come across distorted content and end up identifying with it, which may explain adherence to these extremist ideologies. It is worth remembering that advocating for Nazism is a crime in Brazil,” he emphasized.

The historian also commented on the connection between Nazi ideas and the threats made by Manoel Júnior against President Lula: “President Lula is historically associated with the Brazilian left, while Nazism was a movement radically opposed to socialism and communism. It is interesting to note that, despite being an extreme right-wing movement, Nazism also opposed liberalism.”

“If this individual identifies with Nazi ideals, it makes sense that he sees Lula as an enemy, someone he believes is responsible for the ‘evils’ of society. Only he could explain the exact motivations behind these threats, but within this ideological logic, hostility towards Lula makes sense for someone who shares this extremist mindset,” said the specialist.

Impact on the Family

The report visited the home of Manoel Júnior’s mother, which was also targeted in the PF operation. The elderly woman said she was deeply shaken by the case involving her son—and for health reasons, her identity will be kept confidential. She stated that she was unaware of her son’s posts and only discovered the severity of the situation when federal agents arrived at her residence, located in a peripheral neighborhood of Belém, to execute the search and seizure warrant.

“The police invaded my house as if I were a criminal. I only found out what was happening when they were already searching everything. They were looking for weapons,” said the suspect’s mother.

The mother of Manoel, who identified herself as Black, Bahian and hearing-impaired, denied that her son is a violent person and said she was outraged by the case’s repercussions. “He has no weapons, never fought. It was childishness on his part. Now he is ashamed, unemployed, and wearing an ankle monitor. Everyone looks at people wearing that differently,” she stated.

According to the elderly woman, her son regretted his posts and showed deep anguish over the case’s fallout. “He cried a lot, something he never does. He said he doesn’t know what was going through his mind when he wrote that,” the app driver’s mother recounted.

She also revealed that political differences were a frequent topic within the family. “My son must have voted for Bolsonaro, I think he did, and I always voted for Lula. He even joked about it: ‘Mom, this guy is no good,’ he would say. I believe that posting about a president online is what led the PF to come here. That was his mistake. I only saw the posts after they showed me. Everyone thought it was absurd because Manoel has always been a hardworking man. They said: ‘Why don’t they go after real criminals?'”

Manoel Júnior’s mother also mentioned that her son has struggled emotionally since his father’s death, which may have influenced his behavior. “He was deeply affected by his father’s death; I think that may have impacted him somehow. My son is educated, hardworking. He made the mistake of talking nonsense online, but he is not a criminal.” The mother also mentions that her son lived in Santa Catarina for three months. She also believes that living in another state may have influenced him in some way.

Now, the family is struggling to deal with the legal situation and is seeking resources to try to overturn the measures imposed by the court. “We want to remove that ankle monitor from him; this is hurting me too much. But the costs of hiring a lawyer are high. I am single and do not have the financial means to pay for a lawyer. I thought about going to the Public Defender’s Office, but I think it would take too long there. I will have to find a way, sell something to pay for a lawyer,” she lamented.

In addition to the legal battle, Manoel Júnior’s mother expresses concern about her son’s professional future. “I worry whether my son will be able to get his life back on track, find a good job. He works as a app driver and is still paying off his motorcycle. I’m very worried about this; I fear for my son’s life,” she concluded.

CENARIUM attempted to contact the family again, this time by phone, on Sunday, the 16th, to find out if they already have legal representation in this case, but received no response.

Brazil criminalizes

Criminal lawyer Ennya Barbosa explained that Brazilian law criminalizes both inciting prejudice and the use of Nazi symbols through Law 7.716/89, which states that practicing, inducing, or inciting discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, or national origin results in a prison sentence of one to three years and a fine.

“If this incitement occurs through social communication—such as social media or blogs—the penalty can range from two to five years in prison. Additionally, manufacturing, commercializing, distributing, or displaying symbols such as the swastika or hooked cross for the purpose of promoting Nazism is also a crime in Brazil, with a penalty of two to five years in prison and a fine,” she explained.

According to the lawyer, the growing attempt to disguise Nazi symbols makes law enforcement more challenging. “With the rise of neo-Nazi cells in Brazil, there is an effort to use alternative symbols that are not explicitly described in the law. The legislation explicitly mentions the swastika and the hooked cross, but we know that other icons, such as the Iron Cross and references to the Luftwaffe, are also used by extremist groups to spread Nazi ideology,” she states.

The expert emphasizes that there is no justification for using Nazi symbols under the pretense of historical interest. “A person who truly recognizes Nazism as a nefarious chapter in history would never own a Nazi uniform or display regime insignias such as the Iron Cross. The problem is not the study of history but the romanticization and glorification of a genocidal regime. This strengthens extremist groups and contributes to the spread of hatred against minorities,” she highlights.

Ennya stresses that Nazism is not just a historical movement but a regime based on racial supremacy and the systematic persecution of various minorities, especially the Jewish people.

“Nazism was built on hatred against the Jewish people, but it also persecuted Black people, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities, who were among the regime’s first victims. When we talk about banning these symbols, we are talking about a legal mechanism to penalize any form of support for this racist and genocidal past,” she stated.

Nazism in Pará

Nazism was not a phenomenon restricted to 1930s Germany, explains Tunai Rehm. The researcher states that Nazi cells existed in different Brazilian states, including Pará.

“Adolf Hitler’s popularity was not limited to Germany. In Brazil, at the beginning of his rise to power, newspapers treated him differently than they would after World War II. The way Nazism was perceived before and after the conflict changed significantly, including here. There were active Nazi cells in Brazil, and there are documented studies on this,” he says.

“There are records in newspapers of the time, such as O Estado do Pará, that report the seizure of documents belonging to such a cell. One of the individuals involved was even accused of association with Nazism and was sent to a concentration camp in Tomé-Açu, which functioned as a forced labor camp,” he added.

Tunai explains that with the severance of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—during World War II, there was a strong anti-Nazi mobilization in the country.

“There was intense persecution of suspected Nazi collaborators, called the fifth column, a term originating from the Spanish Civil War and adopted during World War II. This led to a true ‘witch hunt,’ in which Germans, Japanese, and even Brazilians were accused of espionage and Nazi association. Businessmen and immigrants had to publicly declare their opposition to Hitler and their loyalty to Brazil,” he explains.

The historian recounts that after the war and the revelation of the horrors of the concentration and extermination camps, such as Auschwitz, global rejection of Nazism solidified, along with efforts to dismantle Nazi ideology. However, Rehm warns that this mentality did not completely disappear and that the internet has been an important vehicle for its continuation.

Edited by Adrisa De Góes
Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves