Authorities have confirmed that a man was arrested over the weekend for impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent at a polling place, leaving voters feeling intimidated.
ABC News has confirmed that 46-year-old Damilo Alves Silva dressed in what was described by authorities as a blue "ICE raid jacket," along with a blue ICE hat, sunglasses, tactical boots, and a face mask, and intentionally intimidated voters at Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus on Sunday, where Brazilian nationals were gathered to cast their votes in Brazil's presidential election.
Brazil's presidential election is headed to a runoff on the 25th of this month, after neither presidential candidate secured a large enough margin of votes to win. Interestingly, Brazil's authorities are currently investigating whether US President Donald Trump interfered in the election, as he has spent the last year expressing outrage over the prosecution and arrest of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting to overturn his election loss in late 2022 and early 2023. Jair Bolsonaro's son, Flávio Bolsonaro, is now running for president in Brazil.
The country's authorities recently realized that US President Trump may have used foreign aid funding to meddle in this election in support of Flávio Bolsonaro.
According to Alves Silva's arrest report, "The people were gathered and were clearly in fear that, as they portrayed it, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agent was interfering with their election, possibly deporting individuals."
An unidentified individual ultimately confronted Silva, leading to an argument that eventually caught the attention of nearby sheriff's deputies.
Police said that when they approached Silva, he could not produce identification to confirm he was a legitimate Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. He told officers that he purchased the apparel from Amazon and put it on "so that I can come here to see people's reactions."
The arrest report states that Silva insisted that "there is no law against him walking around a voting site dressed as ICE."
Local authorities placed Silva, who claimed to be a Brazilian national himself, into a squad, where he reportedly told police that they would regret arresting him.
"I will get you paid if you let me go," the arrest report quotes Silva telling officers.
Silva is being held on bond and has not yet entered a plea.
