A few days ago, in the northeastern city of São Luís in the state of Maranhão, Cleidenilson Pereira da Silva and an adolescent attempted to rob a store. While an attempted theft in one of Brazil’s smaller states rarely makes headlines, it was the particular outcome of the theft that turned into a national story and again brought to the foreground the ever-present specter of racism in Brazil. For while what Cleidenilson’s attempt was a crime, the greater crime was what followed:

The public lynched him.

The body of Cleidenilson da Silva, stripped and beaten.

Da Silva’s attempted robbery failed, and angry at the levels of crime, a mob of people gathered and ultimately bound Cleidenilson to a pole before beating him to death. They also bound his adolescent accomplice, but police arrived and saved him before he could meet a similar fate.

Police have begun an investigation into who was…