The lieutenant colonel told the minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), that the former minister participated in the meeting on November 12, 2022 with military personnel indicted on suspicion of participating in a coup plot to prevent Lula (PT) from taking office.
Braga Netto’s presence at the meeting was highlighted in investigation reports. He, however, denies to interlocutors that he received military personnel in his apartment in Brasília on the same date.
Cid said that it was he who took lieutenant colonels Rafael de Oliveira and Hélio Ferreira Lima to Braga Netto’s residence. At the beginning of the year, he had told the PF that he had taken the military because they wanted to meet the general again after having worked together on the federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro.
Cid, Bolsonaro’s then aide-de-camp, left that meeting early, around 20 minutes after arrival, to fulfill agendas at Palácio da Alvorada. The soldier presented Moraes, as proof, with the Alvorada’s entry and exit records — to prove it, he took the printed document inside a folder.
The information was confirmed to Sheet by people who followed Cid’s testimony at the STF on Thursday (21). When contacted, Braga Netto’s defense did not speak out until the publication of this text.
According to these sources, Cid said he did not know what was discussed in the meeting with Braga Netto on November 12th. He also stated that he did not know whether the former president () was aware of retired general Mario Fernandes’ plan to assassinate President Lula, vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and Moraes.
He stated that Mario Fernandes told him that he went to the former president on December 8, 2022 to make coup appeals — but, according to the military, the request was for the publication of , and referred to the planning of the murders.
Cid went to the STF headquarters to give his statement around 1:30 pm this Thursday. He left a suitcase with clothes, shoes and personal belongings ready at home, fully expecting that he would be arrested.
The scene would repeat the one he experienced in March, when he gave a statement to the Supreme Court about audios revealed by Veja magazine in which he criticized the Federal Police and Moraes for conducting his plea bargain.
The soldier learned at the end of the hearing that he would be arrested and passed out. Minutes later, he recovered and was taken to the Army Police Battalion, where he was detained.
he expected the situation to repeat itself on Thursday. Cid, however, provided clarifications and denied, again, that he knew of the plan to kill authorities.
Moraes considered that he presented important information and kept the collaboration agreement valid. The Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, was against the annulment of the plea.
The hearing lasted three hours. Lawyers Cezar and Vânia Bitencourt and prosecutor Joaquim Cabral da Costa Neto were also present. Gonet participated via video conference.
During the hearing, Moraes asked several questions about alleged contradictions and omissions by the soldier in his plea bargain. The doubts were raised by the Federal Police, which asked the Supreme Court to reevaluate the collaboration agreement.
The minister asked about possible links between the Presidency of the Republic and the January 8 attacks and the coup camps. According to reports made to SheetCid said that he received messages from soldiers who wanted to participate in the movements in front of the barracks, but that he did not finance the events.
Cid’s lawyer even stated this Friday (22) to GloboNews that the lieutenant colonel had confirmed to the STF that Bolsonaro knew about the execution plan of Lula, Alckmin and Moraes.
Nine minutes later, Bitencourt retreated and said that the former president knew of broader coup plans, not specifically the murder of authorities.
“I didn’t say death plan, execution plan, execution as being the death plan. I spoke about the execution of the plan thought, imagined, developed, in this sense […] I don’t know what kind of scam it could be. Now, [Bolsonaro] was interested in the event that was happening those days, the president knew it”, he said.
Cezar Bitencourt is Mauro Cid’s third lawyer since the soldier was arrested for the first time, in May 2023. His work has been marked by advances and setbacks in statements about the investigations into the coup and the sale of jewelry.
The back and forth mitigates and worsens Bolsonaro’s situation, depending on Bitencourt’s versions. Cid’s family members attribute the confusion to the lawyer’s advanced age, 74 years old, but state with reservation that the criminalist has vast knowledge and good relationships in the Judiciary.
