A Brazilian man was arrested in Miami, Florida, United States, this Sunday, the 4th, for impersonating an agent of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and walking “aggressively” around the Kendall campus of the university, a location that was being used for voting in the Brazilian presidential election. The Estadão could not locate the man’s defense.
According to the arrest report, cited by the Miami Herald, Danilo Silva, 46, wore an ICE cap and jacket, sunglasses, and a face mask, as well as boots with a ‘tactical’ appearance, while walking between the buildings where the voting was taking place.
Uniformed and plainclothes police officers went to the campus as early reports of his presence began to come in. At one point, another man confronted Danilo and the two began to argue; the officers then intervened.
Silva told the officers that he had voted earlier, wearing a Brazilian national team shirt. He allegedly displayed a “defiant” attitude and said that he did not commit a crime by dressing as an ICE agent without actually being one.
After voting, the man said he had gone to the car and put on the uniform, bought online. He stated that he did this ‘to see people’s reaction’, according to the police report.
When placed in the back of the squad car, Danilo threatened a detective and said that “he would regret having made this decision.” He then stopped threatening the detective and attempted to bribe him.
“I’ll make sure you get paid if you let me go. I can show you right here on my phone. Please take the phone and I’ll show you. We’ll pay you, but you have to let me go first,” said the Brazilian.
The police took Silva to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on charges of voter intimidation, conspiracy to commit bribery, unlawful use of police insignia, and disorderly conduct.
As of Monday, the 5th, a judge had not yet set his bail for the voter intimidation charge. Bail for the other charges was US$2,650, according to the jail records.
