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Police arrested
the 27-year-old at the scene on Sunday for damaging public
property, the officer said. The Olympic flame continued to burn,
video footage showed.
The crime can carry a sentence of between six months and three
years in prison.
"He said it was a joke, a dare on Facebook," the officer in the
state of Mato Grosso do Sul said by telephone. He declined to
give his name as he is not permitted to talk publicly.
Local Olympic organizing committee Rio 2016 did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
The video, available on YouTube, showed a heavy spray of water
thrown indiscriminately over the group around the torch bearer
by someone out of view.
The man was freed on bail after paying 1,000 reais ($294.74).
The incident comes a week after a rare jaguar was shot and
killed after performing in an Olympic torch ceremony, leading to
an outcry from animal rights activists around the world.
The torch is on a 20,000 km (12,400 mile) voyage through about
300 Brazilian cities before arriving in Rio de Janeiro for the
Games' opening ceremony on Aug. 5.
Although most of the infrastructure for the Olympics is
finished, Rio is scrambling to complete construction of a new
metro line to help visitors reach the Games' venues.
(Reporting by Caio Saad; Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing
by Daniel Flynn and Lisa Von Ahn)
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