The lieutenant colonel will be heard this Thursday (21) by the minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), regarding possible omissions by allies of ().
The minister must decide whether or not to annul the plea agreement signed by Cid, who was the former president’s aide-de-camp.
In a report sent to Moraes, the Federal Police complicates investigations. The military’s defense claims that there is no reason to question his conduct.
The PF used the files recovered from Cid’s cell phone in the investigation that led to him acting in a coup d’état plan that would involve killing (), the deputy () and Moraes himself.
Cid denied to investigators that he knew about the plan. Even with the possible annulment of the plea bargain, the soldier’s evidence and statements would remain valid, but he could lose the benefits obtained in the agreement.
When summoning him to testify, Moraes pointed out “contradictions” between his statements and the PF’s investigations.
The minister also stated that the hearing will be held to gather “clarifications related to the terms of collaboration” and mentioned “regularity, legality, adequacy and voluntariness”.
Cid should be heard by Moraes himself, at 2 pm, at the STF.
The lieutenant colonel was arrested in May 2023 during an operation into alleged fraud in his and Bolsonaro’s Covid immunization records.
Moraes decided to release the soldier in September of the same year, after ratifying the plea bargain agreement. The plea bargain was closed under the .
Bolsonaro’s former assistant became a key player in the investigations against the former president, which involve attacks on the electoral system and alleged coup attempt in 2022, and fraud in the immunization card, among other points.
Cid confirmed in his statement that allies of the former president were monitoring Moraes’ steps in 2022 to eventually arrest him if the then president decided to take measures to prevent Lula’s inauguration. The coup minutes included a provision for the minister’s arrest.
He also confirmed that meetings had taken place between Bolsonaro and military leaders to discuss legal strategies to carry out the coup. The same facts were later ratified by the commanders of the Army and Air Force.
On Tuesday (19), after the arrest of those suspected of plotting the murder of Lula, Alckmin and Moraes, the lieutenant colonel gave a statement to the PF for three hours.
Lawyer Cezar Bittencourt, who defends Cid, questions the validity of the accusation. “I must be heard, but I don’t see a reason. After all, he is doing his part, he collaborated with the Court and has been contributing for a year and a half.”
Bittencourt also said that the military did not act in a coup plot against Lula’s inauguration. “The Cid was not, is not and will not be interested in overthrowing any government. He gained nothing from it. Was there such a movement at the time? [Eles] They talked, but they talked there in December and January. There’s nothing special, nothing new,” said the lawyer.
After Cid’s last statement, the PF sent a report to Moraes pointing out the military’s alleged omission in the investigations. The STF minister also contacted the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), which must comment on the continued collaboration of the military.
This week, retired general Mario Fernandes, former executive secretary of the General Secretariat of the Presidency in the Bolsonaro government, were arrested this week, lieutenant colonels Hélio Ferreira Lima, Rafael Martins de Oliveira and Rodrigo Bezerra de Azevedo and federal police officer Wladimir Matos Soares.
The investigation shows that Fernandes devised a plan to prevent Lula from taking office, which included the murders. The suspects would have discussed the coup attempt, former Minister of Defense and vice-president in 2022 on Bolsonaro’s defeated ticket. Cid would have participated in the meeting.
Cid’s statement had also been questioned at the beginning of the year, when the military said he was obliged to corroborate versions according to narratives already constructed by the PF.
After the audios were released, he was accused of “failing to comply with precautionary measures and obstructing justice”, according to Moraes’ office.
The minister decided to release the lieutenant colonel in May. “The regularity, legality, adequacy of the agreed benefits and the results of the collaboration to the legal requirement and the voluntariness of the expression of will were reaffirmed,” he stated at the time.
Provisional freedom was granted subject to the maintenance of precautionary measures, such as the prohibition of maintaining contact with other people under investigation and the use of electronic ankle bracelets.
