Since beginning her first electoral campaign in 2020, Briolly has received various death threats and suffered gendered violence. Soon after her election, she received a threatening email, whose authorship was attributed to the same sender as those who were responsible for the assassination of Marielle Franco, threatening that she would be assassinated if she were not to renounce her seat.[26][27]
Due to these constant threats, Briolly left the country on 13 May 2021.[28][29] On various occasions, Briolly's advisor would declare that she had suffered aggressions on the street and online, conjecturing that it had threatened her physical wellbeing.[30][31] On the 18th of that month, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) ordered the adoption of "urgent measures" to protect the councilwoman.[32]
Briolly would return to Brazil on 28 May 2021, after having been included in the Protection Program for Defenders of Human Rights, in the wake of the solicitation of urgent protective measures led by the Public Electoral Ministry, given the situation being confronted.[33] Reporting from Fantástico revealed that the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State refused to guarantee her safety.[34]
Just in 2021 alone, Briolly had received 20 threats.[35] On 23 December 2021, she received new death threats via email, being the largest amount of threats she had received in a week.[36] On 8 March 2022, on International Women's Day, she once again received new threats with racist and transphobic themes. These threats also included the line "sleep with open eyes".[35] In April 2023, Briolly said that, since December 2021, she received more than 30 threats, "with deeply racist and transphobic offenses".[37]
In December 2021, Briolly called out fellow councilman Douglas Gomes, who was then affiliated with the PTC, for religious racism for his actions while attending an event with children at a public school located in the Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo. While there, Gomes questioned if the children had been authorized by their parents to attend what he erroneously called a "terreiro".[38][39]
Briolly's advisor explained that the visit consisted of an excursion with the students of the Núcleo Avançado de Educação Infantil Angela Fernandes, whose objective was the implementation of the Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous History and Culture Law, that made it obligatory to teach the history and cultures of Africa in public and private schools throughout the country. He declared even further that the children had even gone to the place to meat the artist Lia de Itamaracá, whose importance had already been discussed in the classroom.[38]
On 20 May 2022, Briolly filled out a report with the crime board of the Delegation of Racial Crimes and Crimes of Intolerance (Decradi) for transphobia and racism against Rodrigo Amorim (PSC), who was then a state deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ). Three days before, Amorim had insulted Briolly in the assembly hall, referring to her as the "councilor man of", "boizebú" and a "freak of nature".[40][41][42] In July 2022, the Public Ministry denounced Amorim for gendered political violence due to the case,[43] and he became the defendant in a suit in August.[44][45]
In June 2022, Briolly denounced Amorim for having received threats through his email. In an official note after the publication of the threats, the deputy referred to Briolly with the masculine name "Bênio" and denied the authorship of the messages.[46] On the 28th, the police announced that they did not find proof that the threat came from Amorim's email.[47] In June 2023, the investigation against Briolly, initiated by Amorim, for electoral impropriety due to a video published by Briolly attributing the threats in the email to him, was concluded to be unfounded. According to the investigation, though the email was not sent by Amorim, there was no disinformation, and that the authorship of the email still had not been determined.[48]
In 2022, Gomes was sentenced to a year and 7 months in prison after making transphobic attacks against Briolly.[49] Due to this, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights charged for more effective measures by the Brazilian authorities for Briolly's protection.[5]
In 2023, Gomes returned to become involved in discussions with Briolly, alleging that a proposed law by Briolly that sought to "provide integral healthcare to the LGBTQIA+ population" would allow for "biological men in women's restrooms at hospitals in Niterói". Gomes is known for his proposals that sought to prohibit access for transgender women to women's restrooms.[50]
Afterwards, Gomes uploaded a video to social media where he condemns another proposal linked to LGBTQIA+ health that was supported by Briolly. There were attacks against Briolly made in the comments section, including death threats and threats of violence.[49] Briolly, in turn, turned to the office of the Public Ministry and requesting the video be removed. She also filed a complaint with the Delegation of Racial Crimes and Crimes of Intolerance.[50] In response, Gomes claims he is not transphobic and filed a criminal complaint against Briolly, as well as representing himself against Briolly at the Council of Ethics of the Municipal Chamber of Niterói due to threats.[49][51]
In April 2023, the Justice Ministry of the state of Rio de Janeiro determined that Briolly would have a police escort and other security measures that would "guarantee her physical integrity and the continuity of her exercise in the entire Rio de Janeiro region", complying with the request by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF): "The extreme measure of deployment of police escorts is justified by the history of violence against activists who are defenders of human rights."[37][52]
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