Brazilian police expel officer accused of killing activist Marielle Franco

The Rio de Janeiro Military Police decided to expel Ronnie Lessa, accused of the death of the activist and councilor Marielle Franco, after four years of his imprisonment, considering that the act caused irreparable damage to the image of the corporation.

The Rio police considered, in a note, that the conduct committed “involves contempt for the military police service and its colleagues, irreparably tarnishing the image of the corporation” and that “the reprehensible procedure adopted by the state military does not fit to the basic principles. principles of this institution.

Lessa, whose resignation became effective on Wednesday, had been facing a disciplinary process since 2021 when he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. for concealing evidence of the murder of Marielle and the driver Anderson Gomes.

According to the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro, the former police officer, along with other defendants, would have thrown into the sea the weapons used in the murders of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes, which were previously hidden in their apartment located in the west. area of ​​Rio de Janeiro and were never found.

Already in 2019, the Military Police had opened another disciplinary investigation after Lessa was accused of the murders, however, it was suspended in October 2021 pending the conclusion of the judicial process for these events, according to the newspaper O Globo. .

The murder of Marielle Franco, in March 2018, shocked part of Brazilian society. Afro-descendant, bisexual and a prominent activist for the defense of minority rights, Marielle Franco was shot in downtown Rio de Janeiro after participating in a political act with a group of women.

At the moment there are only two people in custody, Lessa, cited as the author of the shots, and the former military police officer Elcio Queiroz. Last year, Lessa was sentenced to another 13 years and six months for illegal arms trafficking.