Gunmen Arrested Trying to Meet Brazil President
A man with a pistol tried to enter Brazil's presidential palace on Thursday and threatened to kill himself if he was not allowed to meet with President Dilma Rousseff, officials said.
The man did not get past security and was arrested.
The 31-year-old "arrived at the palace's main entrance, where a security checkpoint is set up, with a megaphone, pointed a gun at his own neck, made some demands and said he wanted to talk to the president," a spokesman for Rousseff's security detail told Agence France Presse.
When he was approached by security, he asked to be able to speak to the media and show them a letter.
"He gave his gun to Federal Police and was arrested," the spokesman added.
The incident occurred about 9:40 am (12:40 GMT) and lasted about an hour, local media reported.
Rousseff was giving an interview to the Record television channel at the time.
Globo journalists who were at the scene said the man showed them a letter describing how former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2006 had offered the man more than one billion reais ($460 million in 2006 rates) and a diplomatic car, and that "he was at the palace to collect his debt."
Source: Agence France Presse
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