- Title: Protesters descend on Brasilia to support President Bolsonaro, gun rights
- Date: 9th July 2020
- Summary: BRASILIA, BRAZIL (JULY 9, 2020) (REUTERS) BRAZILIAN FLAG / PROTESTERS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CARRYING FLAGS, MARCHING VARIOUS OF CHILD WEARING TOY GUN AND HANDCUFFS GUN RIGHTS SUPPORTER, LUIZ COSTA, WEARING T-SHIRT WITH IMAGE OF BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO HOLDING RIFLE WITH TEXT READING (Portuguese) "AN ARMED PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE ENSLAVED" (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN GUN RIGHTS SUPPORTER, LUIZ COSTA, SAYING: "An armed people will never be enslaved. That's what our president is defending, and that's why we're here today - to defend our freedom." VARIOUS OF T-SHIRTS FOR SALE WITH IMAGES OF BOLSONARO AND U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP DEMONSTRATORS PERSON HOLDING BANNER READING (Portuguese) "BRAZIL ABOVE EVERYTHING, GOD ABOVE EVERYONE" IMAGE OF BOLSONARO ON BANNER VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS HOLDING LARGE BANNER READING (Portuguese) "THE BRAZILIAN PEOPLE SUPPORT BOLSONARO" (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) STATE LEGISLATOR FROM RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE, RUY IRIGARAY, SAYING: "Bolsonaro has always put the right to (self) defense, the right to have access to firearms as one of his main points during his campaign. So, that shows the president's alignment with the people and the ballot box." PERSON WEARING SHIRT READING "BOLSONARO" PERSON HOLDING HAND-MADE SIGN OF BRAZIL'S FLAG AND TEXT READING (Portuguese) "FREEDOM" DEMONSTRATORS WITH PERSON WAVING U.S. AND BRAZILIAN FLAGS
- Embargoed: 23rd July 2020 17:23
- Keywords: Brazil Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arms coronavirus demonstration guns legislation protest relaxation rights
- Location: BRASILIA, BRAZIL
- City: BRASILIA, BRAZIL
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001CM3983R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Gun rights supporters gathered in Brasilia on Thursday (July 9) to express their support for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday (July 7).
Supporters waved flags and held banners reading "the Brazilian people support Bolsonaro" as they marched across the expansive lawns of Brazil's planned capital city.
The protesters said they were grateful for President Bolsonaro's stance on expanding access to firearms in the South American country.
Bolsonaro's positive test for COVID-19 places him among a small list of world leaders who have caught the disease. But the diagnosis looks to have done little to alter the 65-year-old former army captain's view of the illness, which he has dismissed in the past as just "a little flu."
Brazil - which has the second-highest virus death toll after the United States - exceeded 1.7 million confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus as of Wednesday (July 6), and the disease has killed a total of 67,964 people, according to the country's Health Ministry.
The virus' rapid spread has eroded support for right-wing Bolsonaro while also raising fears of economic collapse after years of anaemic growth.
(Production: Leonardo Benassatto, Patrick Alwine) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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