Brazil officials say faith healer considered fugitive

Brazilian police in the central state of Goias say an intense search is underway for the healer accused of sexually abusing more than 300 women.

Joao Teixeira de Faria, who is known as Joao de Deus, had until 3 p.m. local time Saturday to comply with an arrest warrant and turn himself in.

An agent for the Goias Delegation for Criminal Investigations told The Associated Press Sunday that de Faria did not surrender and is now considered a fugitive. The agent was not authorized to speak and requested anonymity.

In this handout photo released by Agencia Brasil, spiritual healer Joao Teixeira de Faria, better known as John of God, arrives to the Dom Inacio Loyola House in Abadiania, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. Authorities say that more than 200 people have come forward to accuse the spiritual healer of sexual abuse in the central Brazilian state of Goias. The accusations against Faria began last week after several alleged victims spoke of abuse on a popular Brazilian television show. (Marcelo CamargoAgencia Brasil via AP)

About 40 officers have also been put on the case, the source said.

Alberto Toron is a lawyer representing de Faria. He told newspaper O Globo on Saturday that his client would present himself "although perhaps outside the time frame" established.

FILE -In this Feb. 23, 2012 file photo, self-styled spiritual healer Joao Teixeira de Faria uses scissors to perform a spiritual surgery on Rosangela Maria Benedeti's nose at the "Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola" in Abadiania, Brazil. Police in Brazil say a special task force will investigate accusations by 10 women made on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, that they were sexually abused by Faria at his clinic in the central-western state of Goias. Faria has denied the accusations. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)