Ministers of the (Federal Supreme Court) assess that the trial of the former president (), should take place in the first half of 2025 to prevent the cases from dragging on until the 2026 presidential elections.
The reading of three ministers and assistants heard by the Sheetsubject to reservation, is that the conclusion of the processes next year is relevant to avoid the .
The ideas of providing a definitive answer to the case before the 2026 election and the beginning of compliance with possible penalties before the start of the electoral process are still well regarded in the Supreme Court.
This Thursday (21) the investigations into the coup plans drawn up by Bolsonaro and allies to reverse the result of the 2022 presidential elections ended.
The final report of the investigation was sent to Minister Alexandre de Moraes. There are around 800 pages that indict 37 people for the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état and criminal organization.
Moraes will analyze the documents by the weekend. Afterwards, it will send the PF’s opinion for analysis by the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), the body responsible for deciding whether or not to report those being investigated.
Assistants to , head of the PGR, told Sheet that there is no deadline for completing the analysis of the Federal Police report. They remember that the Prosecutor’s Office requested additional steps from the Federal Police in all previous investigations involving Bolsonaro, to clarify specific points.
The PGR also intends to combine the final report on the articulation of the coup d’état with other investigations already closed by the PF and sent to the body — such as the sale of jewelry for the benefit of Bolsonaro and the falsification of the vaccination card of the former president and family.
In Gonet’s view, the cases may be related and the joint analysis of the investigations will allow for a more precise contextualization of the facts.
The Federal Police’s final report concluded that Bolsonaro participated in a plot to prevent Lula (PT) from taking office. The evidence has been known since the beginning of the year, when the PF revealed — based on evidence and the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid — that the former president had presented a proposal for a coup d’état to the heads of the Armed Forces.
The Navy commander at the time, Admiral Almir Garnier, made troops available for Bolsonaro’s coup, according to the PF. The report was confirmed by the heads of the Army, General Freire Gomes, and the Air Force, Baptista Júnior.
In addition to the coup decree drafts and the attempt to organize the Armed Forces for a new institutional rupture, the Federal Police revealed that Army soldiers prepared plans to assassinate Lula, vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and minister Alexandre de Moraes.
According to investigators, Bolsonaro knew about the plan formulated by retired general Mário Fernandes. The soldier was part of the government, with an important position in the Palácio do Planalto, and met with the former president days after printing the criminal plan and bringing together Army officers willing to commit the attack.
The plan was put into practice. On the day Moraes would be targeted by the military, on December 15, 2022, the . “Abort… Austria… return to the landing site… we are here”, said one of those involved in the attack to the other soldiers on a messaging app.
Of the 37 people indicted this Thursday, 25 are members of the Armed Forces. The list includes seven general officers — one from the Navy and six from the Army.
The Army generals targeted by the Federal Police are, in the majority, officers who reached the last post in their career, with four stars on their shoulders. They are Walter Braga Netto, Augusto Heleno, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and Estevam Theophilo.
The other two generals did not reach the High Command of the Force. One of them was brigadier general (two stars) Mário Fernandes, who retired in 2021 and took up a position in the Jair Bolsonaro government. Another is Nilton Diniz Rodrigues, also two stars, who was a direct assistant to commander Freire Gomes when the coup appeals intensified in the Army Command.
