Teenager Receives Death Threats in School WhatsApp Group Over Political Differences

“I swear that if you go to school tomorrow, you won’t come back alive.” This was the voice message received by Felipe* (a fictitious name), a 17-year-old student, in a WhatsApp group shared by classmates at a school in Brazil’s Federal District.

The threat was made while votes were still being counted in Brazil’s presidential election, at the moment when candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the lead. In audio messages obtained by Agência Brasil, the aggressor first says: “You voted for Lula, you damn leftist.”

The same student also wrote in the group that if candidate Flávio Bolsonaro lost the election, he would beat up five other classmates, adding: “With a knife.” Another teenager reacted positively to the messages and sent laughing stickers. In addition to the threats, the aggressor also posted messages expressing religious intolerance toward classmates.

Felipe is a transgender teenager and, according to his mother, Aline* (a fictitious name), had never experienced transphobia at school. The family was therefore shocked by the hate messages motivated by political differences.

“Ideology is affecting young people's ability to think clearly. Adults cannot deal with frustration and become violent, and young people end up absorbing this behavior, also turning frustration into hatred,” she said.

Aline also said that, because of the harassment, Felipe stayed home from school for the entire week and is still afraid to return on Monday. Despite the seriousness of the threats, neither of them has filed a police report, fearing that the teenager could be exposed or face retaliation.

According to Aline, the school principal informed her that the student who sent the threatening audio and messages had been transferred to another school, while the student who supported the messages was suspended for four days.

Violence in Schools

Over the past week, several cases of violence against children and teenagers linked to the political views of the students or their parents have been reported on social media.

The incidents range from verbal insults and mockery to physical assaults and death threats.