Federal deputy Duda Salabert (PSOL-MG), 45, and her aide, Felipe Correia de Souza Pereira Gomes, 44, were attacked in the early hours of Friday (September 4) while documenting a suspected illegal ore extraction site near the border between Belo Horizonte and Nova Lima, in the metropolitan area of the capital of Minas Gerais state. According to the police report seen by G1, the two were at the site to record images when they noticed unidentified men approaching. In an account reported by CartaCapital, the congresswoman described the episode as attempted murder.
According to the report filed with the Military Police, Salabert began recording the site on her phone. After passing through the area, the men reportedly turned back toward the two. Fearing a confrontation, the deputy and her aide tried to escape down a slope, fell and were caught. One man held Felipe while another grabbed his phone and threw it; the aide was then beaten with kicks to the head and other parts of his body. Salabert was also approached and attacked, and the phone she was using was thrown nearby. After the attacks, the men fled.
The two managed to reach a Copasa water utility facility, where they asked for help and called the Military Police. The congresswoman was treated at a hospital in Nova Lima and, according to the medical assessment recorded in the report, had scrapes and a dislocated right shoulder; Diário do Poder reports she was discharged. Felipe later returned to the scene and found both phones damaged. The Military Police searched the area but did not locate the suspects. The police report classifies the case as bodily injury, according to the newspaper O Tempo, cited by CartaCapital.
The congresswoman's account and reactions
In the version released by the deputy, as reported by Diário do Poder, three men, one of them armed, surprised the group as they recorded images, and the men allegedly tried to take them into the mining area. Salabert said she jumped down a slope to reach the avenue and call for help. The outlet places the start of the inspection on Thursday night (September 3). Salabert, a member of the left-wing PSOL party known for environmental legislation, is running for reelection in October's general election, and Felipe Gomes is a candidate for the Minas Gerais state assembly, according to CartaCapital.
PSOL's Minas Gerais branch issued a statement on the case:
"PSOL Minas Gerais demands that the competent authorities and the Military Police conduct a transparent investigation, able to clarify the circumstances of the attack and hold its authors accountable. We know that in Minas Gerais the work of mining companies is based on intimidation, especially when extraction ignores the requirements of the law. We reaffirm our solidarity with Duda Salabert and Felipe Gomes. Guaranteeing the safety of congresswomen while they work is essential to our democracy."
Investigation
The case is under investigation by the Civil Police of Minas Gerais (PCMG). No arrests have been made and the suspects remain unidentified. The legal classification of the crime depends on the inquiry: the initial record lists bodily injury, while the deputy maintains it was attempted murder. G1 said it had contacted the PCMG, the Chamber of Deputies and the congresswoman's office, and was awaiting a response when its report was published. The next step is the progress of the PCMG inquiry, which has not disclosed a timeline or planned investigative measures.