Overview

Danelo Cavalcante Arrest refers to the capture of escaped fugitive Danelo Cavalcante by U.S. law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania after a two-week search in September of 2023. The search put Pennsylvania residents on edge, but social media was particularly perplexed by law enforcement officials' apparently taking a photograph with Cavalcante after they captured him.

Background

On August 31st, 2023 convicted murderer Daniel Cavalcante escaped Chester County Prison in southeastern Pennsylvania by climbing over a prison fence and stealing an unlocked delivery van. Cavalcante was serving a life sentence for stabbing his ex-girlfriend in 2021, reportedly in order to stop her from telling the police he had slain another in his home country of Brazil years prior.^[1]

This kicked off a two-week search for Cavalcante, during which time he sought aid from former coworkers and reportedly stole an assault rifle from a Pennsylvania resident's garage.^[2] Police advised residents to secure their homes, and locals were reportedly frustrated by law enforcement's inability to capture Cavalcante quickly.

Developments

On September 13th, 2023, Cavalcante was arrested by tactical officers^[3] with no shots fired.

Online, social media joked about Cavalcante's Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt worn at the time of his arrest. For example, a September 13th tweet by @ViolationsGreg^[4] joked Cavalcante was "fired up" about the team's home opener, gaining over 30 retweets and 90 likes in three hours (shown below, left). User @PanasonicDX4500^[5] joked the picture of Cavalcante's arrest represented, "me if saying 'Go Birds' was illegal," gaining over 100 retweets and 900 likes in hours (shown below, right).

After the arrest, the law enforcement officials that apprehended Cavalcade posed for a picture with the fugitive (shown below).

The act was considered divisive by social media, as some found it in poor taste and others found it funny. User @omg_meghan^[6] dubbed it cringe, gaining 17 likes in a few hours, while user @dr3wheels^[7] said it was hilarious, gaining over 500 retweets and 3,000 likes in the same time frame.

External References