After the indictment of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and 36 other people for an alleged coup d’état by the Federal Police (PF), this Thursday (21), minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), will receive the report – with approximately 800 pages – and will send the case for analysis by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The body will have 15 days to decide whether to archive, accept or request new measures. As a result, this stage could be completed by December, before the start of the judicial recess, on the 20th of next month. The tendency is for the PGR, Paulo Gonet, to file the complaint, but only present it next year.
“After the indictment, the case must be presented to the PGR so that it can assess whether or not the evidence of crime is robust and report it, opening a criminal case against those involved. So far, no one is being prosecuted, no one is a defendant. This is a preliminary phase, still investigative”, explains constitutional lawyer André Marsiglia.
Lawyer Beatriz Alaia Colin, a specialist in Criminal Law, points out that the indictment made by the PF against Bolsonaro and the others does not impose an obligation on the part of the PGR to file the complaint.
“The Federal Police identified evidence, elements, of the involvement of these people in the crimes of criminal organization and the crime of attacking the Democratic Rule of Law. But the fact is that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is not linked to this indictment list and will make its accusations according to its conviction as to whether these people participated in the acts”, stated Beatriz.
If the PGR offers the complaint, it will be up to the STF to decide whether to accept it or not. If so, Bolsonaro and the other 36 will then become defendants in the process.
When commenting on the indictment made by the PF, Bolsonaro reproduced a statement about the indictment made by the PF given on the subject to the portal Metropolises. “Minister Alexandre de Moraes conducts the entire investigation, adjusts statements, arrests without charges, carries out evidentiary fishing and has very creative advice. He does everything that the law doesn’t say”, he stated on “X”.
And he added: “We have to see what’s in this PF indictment. I’ll wait for the lawyer. This, obviously, goes to the Attorney General’s Office. It’s in the PGR that the fight begins. I can’t expect anything from a team that uses the creativity to denounce me.”
Constitutional lawyer Fábio Tavares stated that the “disseminated narrative lacks evidence” and that the attribution of crimes to the accused weakens the rule of law.
“These accusations not only weaken the rule of law, but also represent a threat to democratic stability. When public institutions are used to promote political narratives, the legal system itself loses credibility,” said Tavares.
Regarding a possible preventive arrest of the former president, Marsiglia considers that the act would be “illegal”, since there is no threat from Bolsonaro.
“Bolsonaro’s preventive detention would be illegal, as one of the main requirements of prison is to prevent there being a threat to public order. If the facts are from 2022 and he is no longer holding a command position, there is no reason for him to be arrested at this time”, says the jurist.
Crimes cited by the PF in the indictment
In the report, the Federal Police indicted the former president and 36 other people for three crimes: coup d’état, which provides for a sentence of between 4 and 12 years in prison if convicted; violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, with sentences of 4 to 8 years in prison; and criminal organization, with sentences of 3 to 8 years in prison. The 37 were indicted for the three crimes.
Regarding the first two crimes mentioned, the PF understands that Bolsonaro and the others would have violated Law 14,197/2021, sanctioned by him during his government to replace the old National Security Law (LSN).
The new legislation, in its article 359-L, considers it a crime to “attempt, through the use of violence or serious threat, to abolish the Democratic Rule of Law, preventing or restricting the exercise of constitutional powers”. Article 359-M considers it a crime to “attempt to depose, through violence or serious threats, the legitimately constituted government”.
Regarding the third complaint, the PF document makes reference to Law 12,850/13, known as the Criminal Organization Law. Article 2 of the regulations considers it a crime to “promote, establish, finance or integrate, personally or through an intermediary, a criminal organization”.
For Fábio Tavares, the indictment lacks objective elements to support these accusations. “The classification of these crimes requires, above all, concrete acts and robust evidence. A coup d’état, by definition, presupposes the use of force, weapons, control of key institutions and a violent rupture with the democratic order. However, nothing that happened,” he said.
Alleged coup plan cited by the PF
According to the Federal Police, there was detailed operational planning to be carried out on December 15, 2022. The plan for the alleged coup d’état would have been approved at a meeting held at Braga Netto’s house on November 12 of that year. At the time, Rafael de Oliveira, recently arrested, sent Mauro Cid the document called “Copa 22”. This material presented the logistics and budget of an action to be carried out by an elite Army group known as “black kids”.
Between November 21 and 24, 2022, data from ERBs, equipment that allows tracking connections between cell phones and telephone companies, indicated that Minister Alexandre de Moraes’ steps were already being monitored. On the 23rd, records showed Hélio Ferreira, close to the STF, while Moraes participated in a session. He was also arrested in the PF action this Tuesday (19), Operation Counterattack. On the same date, Rafael de Oliveira was tracked near the minister’s house.
On December 6, Cid, Oliveira, and Bolsonaro were together at Palácio do Planalto at the same time, according to the PF. Later that day, Mário Fernandes, also arrested this Tuesday, printed the document entitled “Punhal Verde Amarelo” on Planalto. Two days later, on December 8, cell phones used in the operation were activated in Brasília.
Still according to the PF, on December 9, 2022, Bolsonaro would have made changes to a decree that became known as the “coup draft” and would also have met with the commander of COTER, Estevam Theophilo. On December 10, Cid and Marcelo Câmara, Bolsonaro’s advisor at the time, exchanged messages about Moraes’ displacement during Lula’s diploma ceremony.
Finally, on December 15, 2022, the Federal Police say that those under investigation positioned themselves in strategic locations to execute the plan, but the mission ended up being aborted.
Bolsonaro’s third indictment
In addition to the indictment for an alleged coup d’état, Bolsonaro has already been indicted this year in two other Federal Police investigations: the Saudi jewelry case and the vaccination card fraud. Both investigations are awaiting an opinion from the PGR to proceed.
In March, investigators concluded that the former president and 16 other people participated in a scheme that included false information about vaccination against Covid-19 in a Ministry of Health system to allegedly benefit the former president, relatives and auxiliaries. The case was revealed in 2023 and is currently being evaluated by the PGR.
Regarding this issue, the defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) stated at the time that he “never determined or knew” of any tampering with the vaccination card against Covid-19. In a note, the lawyers highlighted that it is “public and known worldwide” that the former president did not use immunizations “due to personal convictions”.
“The former president never determined or knew that any of his advisors had created vaccination certificates with ideologically false content”, says the use of the defense. The statement was signed by lawyers Fabio Wajngarten, Daniel Bettamio Tesser and Paulo Amador da Cunha Bueno.
In July, the PF indicted Bolsonaro and 11 other people on suspicion of misappropriation of jewelry given as gifts by the Saudi Arabian government, when he was president of Brazil. According to investigations, part of the jewelry was traded in the United States and the amount received was incorporated into the former president’s bank account. Bolsonaro was indicted for the crimes of criminal association, embezzlement and money laundering. The former president has always denied any wrongdoing.
In a press release, lawyer Paulo Amador da Cunha Bueno, responsible for Bolsonaro’s defense, stated that “the gifts offered to the Presidency of the Republic comply with a strict treatment and cataloging protocol, over which the Chief Executive has no interference. , direct or indirect, being developed by the Deputy Office of Historical Documentation (GADH), responsible for analyzing and defining, based on legal parameters, whether the property will be destined for the public collection or the private collection of public interest of the Presidency of the Republic”.
Who was indicted for an alleged coup attempt
Find out what the defenses of those indicted by the PF for an alleged coup d’état say.
