Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro stabbed while campaigning

(Image credit: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images)

published 6 September 2018

On Thursday, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right Brazilian presidential candidate, was stabbed in Minas Gerais while campaigning, his son tweeted.

Flavio Bolsonaro said his father sustained damage to his liver, lung, and intestine. "He lost a lot of blood," he said, and was "almost dead" when he arrived at a local hospital. Bolsonaro's running mate, Gen. Antonio Hamilton Mourao, told Reuters he is now in serious but stable condition. "He underwent surgery, which was successful and he is doing okay," Mourao said. "But his state remains delicate."

Video recorded during Bolsonaro's campaign stop shows him being carried on a person's shoulders, surrounded by supporters. A knife is then seen being raised in the air, then plunging into Bolsonaro's abdomen, Reuters reports. Brazil's Federal Police released a statement saying officers were accompanying Bolsonaro when the attack took place, and the "aggressor" was caught and detained. The incident is now under investigation.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.