The Federal Police (PF) report that supported this Tuesday’s operation (19) and which was removed from confidentiality by Minister Alexandre de Moraes mentions the name of Filipe Martins three times. However, Jair Bolsonaro’s former advisor is not one of those investigated in the operation and there is no decision about him in the document that cites plans against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Vice President Geraldo Alckmin or the minister himself Alexandre de Moraes, from the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
The investigation against Martins is different, due to his alleged participation in the case of the draft of a decree that provided, for example, for a state of defense or siege and the calling of new presidential elections in 2022. This draft would be the same as the one cited in the report released this Tuesday, where Martins’ name appears.
In the first excerpt that deals with the former international affairs advisor, the PF informs that “it was successful in identifying a draft for the establishment of a Crisis Cabinet, which would be created on 12/16/2022, after the coup d’état, composed mostly of military personnel.” According to the investigation, generals Augusto Heleno and Braga Neto would command this cabinet, which would have “the participation of general Mario Fernandes and Filipe Martins”.
In another quote, the PF report details the composition of this “Crisis Office”, indicating the functions of each member. “The institutional relations department would be occupied by ‘Filipe Martins’”. This time, the name appears in quotation marks.
The third excerpt in which the man from Paraná is presented informs that he would be in a meeting on December 7, 2022 between then-president Jair Bolsonaro and the commanders of the Army, Navy, and the Minister of Defense. The objective would be to show the “draft of the coup d’état, with the ‘recitals’ being presented to Filipe Martins”, says the text.
In a note sent to Gazeta do Povo, the former advisor’s defense states that, although he did not have access to the documents cited by the PF, it is possible to see that the draft mentioned was authored by one of those investigated in the new action. Therefore, “there is no relationship with Filipe Martins, even because it never existed”, states the defense.
Draft decree is not a coup
Furthermore, even if the existence of this or other drafts were proven, the situation does not constitute a crime of attempted coup d’état, as explained by experts interviewed by Gazeta do Povo in February this year. “Thinking and preparing, in law, is nothing,” said São Paulo Public Prosecutor, César Dario Mariano.
“In our country, mere cogitation is not punished, the first phase of the ‘iter criminis’ (path of crime), which is made up of cogitation, preparation, execution and consummation”, wrote the prosecutor in an article published in 2023.
Who is Filipe Martins?
A resident of Ponta Grossa, in Paraná, the man from Paraná was arrested in February this year because his name was on an editable document found on Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid’s computer. According to the document, Martins would be on the passenger list of a presidential flight to Orlando (USA) scheduled for December 30, 2022.
The PF and Minister Alexandre de Moraes used the editable list as proof that Jair Bolsonaro’s former advisor was trying to avoid prosecution by fleeing the country, but the defense proved that the boy did not leave Brazil.
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) then issued an opinion in favor of Martins’ release, but the minister kept him in prison for six months. According to the defense, the prison contained numerous illegalities.
The boy was released on provisional release on August 9 and continues to comply with precautionary measures, such as wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.
