This Tuesday (19) he carried out a plan to act in a coup d’état plan in Brazil, at the end of 2022, which would involve killing the then elected president, (), the vice () and the minister, of the (Supreme Court Federal).
The plot, in the investigators’ assessment, reinforces the evidence and reports obtained by the PF about the participation of the former president (), allies and military personnel in discussions for a coup that would prevent Lula from taking office.
The information released by the PF this Tuesday points for the first time to an operational plan for a coup d’état articulated by members of the Bolsonaro government. Previous phases of the investigation had already indicated discussions about coup drafts and pressure on the heads of the Armed Forces to support an institutional rupture.
This week’s operation now targeted a retired general, a federal police officer and military personnel with special forces training, the so-called “black kids”.
The arrests took place less than a week after the attack in which Moraes and the general director of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, linked the episode to investigations involving Bolsonaro and his allies.
Both said that the attack was not an isolated incident and indicated relationships with other cases reported by Moraes about attacks on institutions. The request for the arrest of the five suspects was made by the PF on Thursday (14), one day after the attack in which a man blew himself up in front of the STF.
Reserve general Mario Fernandes, lieutenant colonels Hélio Ferreira Lima, Rafael Martins de Oliveira and Rodrigo Bezerra de Azevedo and federal police officer Wladimir Matos Soares were arrested.
The operation was authorized on Sunday (17) by Moraes himself, who plays the role of victim and judge in the case and quotes himself throughout the decision in the third person.
Experts have criticized Moraes’ handling of cases that affect him directly under the main argument that this affects a judge’s impartiality.
The development of the investigations indicates that retired general Mario Fernandes developed an operational plan to prevent the rise of the new government. He was executive secretary of the General Secretariat of the Presidency during the Bolsonaro government.
The details of the coup plan were written in a three-page document, printed at Palácio do Planalto during the former president’s administration and whose execution was coordinated with Army soldiers, according to the PF.
The investigation also cites a meeting, where the idea would have been discussed, at the residence of retired general Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense and vice-president in 2022 on Bolsonaro’s defeated ticket.
According to the PF, the mission was put into practice against Moraes on December 15, 2022, but ended.
The planning was called “Green Yellow Dagger”. It defined a series of procedures to be adopted to enable the arrest or death of authorities. The document provided for the participation of six people, the use of weapons and grenades and a period of two weeks to prepare the attacks.
“Another possibility was raised to fulfill the Mission, seeking with a chemical and/or biological element, the poisoning of the Target, preferably during an Official Public Event. Our Rec (recognition) is also raising the conditions for such L Aç (line of action)”, says an excerpt from the document obtained by investigators.
The coup plan stated that it was still necessary to evaluate other scenarios for the assassination of authorities, such as “short, medium or long distance shooting, use of ammunition and/or explosive devices”.
General Mario Fernandes highlighted that the possibility of success of the coup operation was “medium, tending to high”. The collateral risks would be very high, according to the document, as would the political and social impacts.
“The document shows that the reconnaissance actions were already underway, presenting some difficulties in relation to the convoy and the target’s security protocols, in this case Minister Alexandre de Moraes”, says the PF in a report.
Lula defeated then-president Bolsonaro in 2022 after a fierce second-round dispute. During his term, the now ineligible Bolsonaro is currently the target of a PF investigation into his role in the plot that tried to prevent the elected president from taking office.
The PF investigation points out that the coup plans of Bolsonaro’s military allies began shortly after the defeat by Lula.
Mario Fernandes was with Bolsonaro at Palácio da Alvorada on November 8, according to data obtained by the PF. The next day, he sent an audio to Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, then Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp, celebrating that the then president accepted “our advice”.
Also on November 9, Mario Fernandes prints the coup plan for the first time at Palácio do Planalto.
Three days later, Mauro Cid met with soldiers Rafael de Oliveira and Hélio Ferreira Lima at Braga Netto’s house. It was at this meeting, according to the PF, that the coup plan was presented and approved. And from there, actions, such as monitoring Moraes, were initiated.
Since February, when the general was the target of searches by the PF. He was not the target of a request for arrest or a search again due to the fact that the meeting had already been investigated at the beginning of the year — this Tuesday’s operation focused on those involved in carrying out the operation, according to the decision documents.
The general denies to people close to him that he has discussed coup topics. Wanted by SheetBraga Netto’s defense stated that he has not yet had “full access to the investigations”, which would make any statement regarding the case impossible.
The report did not locate the defenses of those arrested in the PF operation.
Moraes cites, in the decision, evidence of authorship of the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup d’état and criminal association — which can result in up to 23 years in sentences.
Progress in the investigations was only possible, in part, after the PF recovered files deleted from Mauro Cid’s cell phone. The lieutenant colonel gave a new statement this Tuesday to investigators about the deleted contents.
He denied to investigators that he knew about these plans to kill Lula, Alckmin and Moraes.
The military reached a plea bargain agreement last year, but, this Tuesday, the PF sent a report to Moraes in which it says that Cid has failed to comply with clauses in the plea bargain agreement.
The expectation is that the Supreme Court minister will decide in the coming days whether the agreement will be maintained. The eventual annulment of the plea bargain must keep the military’s evidence and statements valid, but Cid may lose the benefits obtained by the agreement.
So far, the evidence of acts of a coup nature in 2022. The debate revolves around the question of which investigated conducts cease to be preparatory acts for a crime –not punishable– and become an attempt to commit it.
The senator (PL), eldest son of the former president, . “As much as it is repugnant to think about killing someone, that is not a crime,” he said.
According to the senator, for there to be an attempted murder, “its execution must be interrupted by some situation beyond the control of the agents”, which, according to him, does not “appear” to have occurred.
