A 27-year-old evangelical pastor was arrested this Friday (27) on suspicion of acting as one of the principals of (RN), Marcelo Oliveira (União Brasil), according to information released by the Civil Police of .
Former mayor Damária Jacome (Republicans), who was Marcelo’s deputy, and re-elected councilor Leidiane Jacome (Republicans), her sister, are also investigated for alleged involvement in the case.
They were arrested by the courts, but were not found and are on the run, according to the Civil Police. The report did not find the defense of the two suspects.
The crime against the mayor occurred on August 27th. At the time, Francisco Damião de Oliveira, known as Marcelo Oliveira, 38, then a candidate for reelection, and his father, Sandi Alves de Oliveira, 58, were shot dead while participating in campaign commitments.
In total, the Civil Police said they served six arrest warrants and six search and seizure warrants this Friday in the cities of João Dias, Patu and Marcelino Vieira. The name of the arrested pastor was not released.
“The issue with the pastor is that he helped with the logistics of the crime: finding the best location, the most suitable time,” said delegate Alex Wagner, director of Divipoe (Western Civil Police Division), in a press interview.
Marcelo was elected mayor of João Dias in 2020 on a ticket with Damária. The politician, however, resigned from his position in 2021, alleging threats from the vice president’s family.
At the time, Damária took charge of the municipal administration. However, in 2022, the Court accepted a request for Marcelo to return to the post of mayor.
“This has already generated belligerence, a political and personal split,” said the delegate.
“During this time, Damária and Leidiane’s brothers were killed in a confrontation with the police in another state. They had an arrest warrant for international drug trafficking issued against them. Another brother was arrested, and they began to accuse Marcelo that he was handing over the location of these people”, he added.
In the 2024 elections, Damária was a candidate for mayor of João Dias, initially in opposition to Marcelo. At the end of the dispute, she was surpassed by the mayor’s widow, Fatinha de Marcelo (União Brasil), who only entered the election after her partner’s death.
“Recently, we see a new political dispute […]. This entire history of political and personal confrontations resulted in the incident,” said the delegate.
The operation carried out by the police on Friday was called “Profanes”, in an allusion to acts that violate sacred principles.
João Dias is about 365 kilometers from Natal. In 2022, it had 2,076 inhabitants, the third smallest population of the 167 municipalities, according to the .
Political violence, according to a survey by the organizations Justiça Global and Terra de Direito. There were 558 incidents counted from January until the second round of elections, including threats, attacks, attacks, offenses and murders reported in the media.
