Marielle Franco was a city councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro. In August 2018 she and her driver were shot dead by militia associates after she criticised illegal militia-linked property projects. The assassination shocked Brazil and led to federal investigations.
Her killer was Ronnie Lessa, a sniper and arms dealer with powerful connections. Lessa's daughter dated a son of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former far-right president. In February 2026 Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced Chiquinho Brazão, a former federal congressman, and his brother Domingos, a member of Rio's audit court, to over 76 years in prison for ordering the killing. The state's former police chief was also jailed for accepting money to derail probes into the brothers.
Lessa had ties to Adriano da Nóbrega, a former captain in the police's elite force who went on to run a death squad. Nóbrega was killed in a shoot-out in 2020. Flávio Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro's eldest son and a leading contender in the October 2026 presidential race, employed Nóbrega's wife and mother when he was a state legislator. He says he was unaware of their connection to Nóbrega.
The best laid plans of mice and men are held up in the legal department.