Brazilian politician Roberto Jefferson is seen in a photo from 2005. Photo: Reuters/Jamil Bittar.

One of Brazil’s most notorious politicians was the subject of a criminal complaint filed on Monday by the country’s Jewish community, following a social media post in which he revived the anti-Jewish medieval blood libel.

“Baal, Satanic deity, Canaanites and Jews sacrificed children to receive their sympathy. Today, history repeats itself,” Roberto Jefferson — leader of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB) — posted on Instagram on Friday.

Once a party of the left, the PTB is now a vocal supporter of Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. The party occupies 12 of the 513 seats in the lower chamber of Brazil’s parliament.

The Brazilian Jewish Confederation (Conib) said in a statement that Jefferson’s post constituted “a crime of racism, with an increased penalty for having been committed through a social network.”

Conib added that all “evidence of the illicit act as well as the comments of followers, which can also be characterized as a crime, was preserved for criminal investigation.”

Another group, Jews for Democracy, denounced the post as “an absurd historical lie and a serious antisemitic gesture.”

However, Jefferson has remained defiant. The devoutly Christian politician heaped abuse on his critics, accusing Conib of “clowning.” claiming in addition that “there are some assholes who make a point of generating tensions. The confederation’s leadership wants sensationalism. Morons.”

Jefferson is a veteran of political controversy, most of which has revolved around his own illegal activities. In 1993, he was cited in a congressional report which investigated bribery, while in 2005, he was involved in a corruption scandal and barred from being elected to any public office for 10 years.

Jefferson has been something of a menace on social media as well. Last year, he was fined and his Twitter account was suspended because of attacks he launched on Alexandre de Moraes, a government minister.

Last week, Eduardo Leite, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, filed a complaint against Jefferson for another social media offense. Leite objected to a series of “vulgar” posts on March 12 in which Jefferson attacked him personally and insulted the LGBT+ community.