Glenn Greenwald Fires Back After Brazil’s President Threatens Jail: At Least This Time He Didn’t Use ‘Deranged Homophobic Mockery’
Journalist Glenn Greenwald is firing back after Brazil’s president threatened him with jail.
In a heated Twitter thread Monday, Greenwald — co-founder of The Intercept — blasted Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro.
“Brazil’s President, apparently with few national problems to address and little to do, gave an interview this morning again attacking me and suggesting I was guilty of crimes,” Greenwald wrote. “I don’t think he understands (a) the Constitution or (b) that he’s not a judge or dictator.”
He added: “To Bolsonaro’s credit, at least he managed this time to threaten me with prison without twisted and deranged homophobic mockery of my marriage and adopted children.”
(Reportedly, Bolsonaro has — in the past — accused Greenwald of being part of a “gay plot” against him.)
Brazil’s President, apparently with few national problems to address and little to do, gave an interview this morning again attacking me and suggesting I was guilty of crimes. I don’t think he understands (a) the Constitution or (b) that he’s not a judge or dictator: https://t.co/EWtmT62H90
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 29, 2019
To Bolsonaro’s credit, at least he managed this time to threaten me with prison without twisted and deranged homophobic mockery of my marriage and adopted children.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 29, 2019
In comments over the weekend Bolsonaro said that Greenwald, an American journalist who resides in Rio de Janeiro, could “do jail time in Brazil.” The Intercept and Brazilian news outlet Folsa teamed up to publish leaked chats showing that Bolsonaro’s minister of justice and public security, Sergio Moro, conspired to keep a high-profile potential opponent out of the 2018 presidential election.
Bolsonaro is agitated today because – in partnership with Brazil’s largest paper, @Folha – we exposed that his Minister of Justice & Public Security, then-judge Sergio Moro, unethically released documents 6 days before the election to help Bolsonaro win https://t.co/qKDjlVK4uk pic.twitter.com/WCvoOnmmQF
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 29, 2019
Notably, Washington Post editor Marty Baron and CNN’s Jake Tapper are among those in the journalism community who have come to Greenwald’s defense:
“By threatening a journalist who publishes information that he dislikes, the president promotes and instigates serious attacks on freedom of expression. Without free journalism, the other freedoms will also die.” Brazil’s @abraji re threats v @ggreenwald https://t.co/p8J73bJuYV
— Marty Baron (@PostBaron) July 28, 2019
The very notion of a free press is being endangered for all journalists in Brazil – and elsewhere – by President Bolsonaro’s threats to imprison @ggreenwald.
Journalists have the right to report without threats of jail time, period. https://t.co/gijIkk3FFO
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 28, 2019
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