Brazilian authorities will investigate video of crowd doing apparent Nazi salute on anti-gassing march in Rio de Janeiro.
Authorities believe footage on the social media platform Snapchat shows anti-G8 protesters, during the protest of the 2017 G8 summit in Rio de Janeiro, apparently chanting a song of Hitler and the Nazi salute.
The video shows protesters holding up signs with the Nazi salute. The video has been watched more than 30,000 times. It is not yet known who shot the video and authorities are hunting down those involved.
Local media showed a police statement on Friday, saying that the action was a violation of Brazilian laws on the freedom of assembly and public order.
The anti-gassing protests were to protest against the summit, which was hosted by Brazil. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was a guest at the G8 summit and President Trump.
Police said they would investigate the matter and arrest those found involved.
In the video, protesters were seen apparently singing the words of the Nazi salutes “Sieg Heil!” accompanied by the Latin American country’s national anthem.
The song, written by a group called the Armed Forces of Brazil in 1939, allegedly contained words that would encourage the Nazis to invade Europe.
The video, which shows a group of protesters in front of the congress building in Rio, has been widely shared on social media.
The group of protesters is seen holding Nazi signs that reads “Fascism is not an end – it’s the first step.”
The protest march was led by members of the Popular and Radical Progressive parties, both of which are seen as leftist parties against Bolsonaro’s government.
Among other parties, the party of Bolsonaro’s opponent, the Workers’ Party, marched with the protesters, along with several supporters.
Another demonstration was held by right-wing groups in Rio.
