The house of journalist and blogger Angelo Rigon was the target of five gunshots in the morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 11, in the town of Maringá (Paraná), reported the newspaper O Diário. The journalist was at home during the attack, but he was not injured. Rigon runs a blog that publishes news and analyses about regional politics.
Speaking with the website G1, the journalist said he did not know what were the motives of the attack. “During last year's elections, I received threats, but it was during that time. Now I am not sure what could have happened," he said. He added that he is going to make some changes to his work routine, as advised by police invesigators.
Also according to G1, in 2008, Rigon reported on the possible impeachment of the mayor of Maringá during that time, for which he received a death theat. Police investigators discovered that Rigon's phones had been tapped, and that a group had plans to kill him. No one was arrested.
The Maringá police are investigating the case but did not confirm if they had any suspects, according to BandNews FM Curitiba. In a statement, the Reporters' Union of Northern Paraná expressed outrage over the attack. For Rigon, the motivation for the attack could be linked to one of his recent blog posts.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
