This archive report was first published on 1 November 2021.
On November 1, 2021, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's visit to Rome, Italy, for the G20 summit turned violent when his security guards assaulted journalists.
According to reports, the attacks were directed at journalists from Globo, Folha, and UOL, who were trying to ask questions to the president.
One of the journalists, Ana Estela de Sousa Pinto from Folha de S.Paulo, reported being pushed by a security guard while waiting in front of the Brazilian embassy.
When Bolsonaro left the building and took an impromptu walk to meet with supporters, the journalists approached to try to ask questions, but were violently driven away.
Correspondent Leonardo Monteiro from Globo asked Bolsonaro why he did not attend the G20 events, to which the president replied, “Is it Globo? You have no shame in your face….”
Monteiro was then punched in the stomach by a security guard and pushed violently.
Another journalist, Jamil Chad from UOL, began filming the violence and was then pushed by a security guard, who grabbed and twisted his arm and took his cell phone.
Chad also asked Bolsonaro why he will not be attending the COP26 Climate Summits in Glasgow, to which the president replied, “I owe you no satisfaction.”
These incidents are not the first of their kind involving physical and verbal attacks on journalists that Bolsonaro dislikes.
According to a report by the National Federation of Brazilian Journalists (Fenaj), Bolsonaro carried out 175 attacks on the press in 2020.
