Latest Marielle arrests bring new links to Bolsonaro family

Over a year and a half later, law enforcement is gradually getting closer to finding out who ordered the assassination of left-wing Rio de Janeiro City Councillor Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, in March 2018. The Rio civil police arrested four people on Thursday morning, all of whom are connected to retired military policeman Ronnie Lessa, arrested for Ms. Franco’s murder in March.

Beyond the slow unraveling of the crime, the developments in the Marielle Franco case have gotten uncomfortably close to the family of Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. Despite no members of the Bolsonaro clan being formally involved in the police’s investigations, a number of figures under the law enforcement’s microscope have turned out to have connections to the president and his sons.

Who killed Marielle?

Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were returning from an event in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, when a silver Chevrolet Cobalt pulled up alongside their vehicle and fired 13 shots. Ms. Franco was hit three times in the head and once in the neck, while Mr. Gomes was shot at least three times in the back. Both died instantly.

For the next 12 months, the question...