Federal deputy said that asking to “give Bolsonaro a hand” did not imply the “illegality” reported by the former head of the Air Force in a statement to the PF
The federal deputy (PL-SP) denied having asked for any “illegality” when she spoke with Brigadier Carlos Baptista Júnior, commander of the Air Force in December 2022. According to the deputy, she requested “reception” to the then president (PL), who had lost the elections months before.
The soldier testified to the PF (Federal Police) that the congresswoman approached him after the graduation of aspiring FAB (Brazilian Air Force) officers, in Pirassununga, in the interior of São Paulo. According to Baptista Júnior, Zambelli said that the brigadier could not “leaving President Bolsonaro in the lurch“, in reference to the coup attempt.
Zambelli said ao Poder360 who does not fully remember the episode, but if there was a request, it would have been to ask “welcome” for Bolsonaro. “Is saying ‘not to let someone down’ illegal?”questinou.
According to the statement collected by the PF – and whose content was made public by Minister Alexandre de Moraes –, Baptista Júnior responded: “Deputy, I understand what you are saying and I do not accept that you propose any illegality”.
“If he had answered me that, a light would have gone off in my head and I would have responded accordingly, because I wasn’t asking for anything illegal. Now, it’s strange that he thinks that giving someone a helping hand is illegal. Don’t abandon someone. Give strength to someone who just lost the election. If this is illegal, perhaps in his mind he was already committing an illegality“, declared Carla Zambelli.
According to the PF, the plan to keep Bolsonaro in the Presidency was not implemented after Batista Júnior and the then Army commander, Freire Gomes, did not join the coup attempt.
The military’s stance would have made him the target of criticism from members of the then government – among them, General Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense and candidate for Bolsonaro’s vice-president. The general would have referred to Baptista Júnior as “watermelon” – an expression for a left-wing soldier, as he was “green on the outside” and “red on the inside” – and “traitor to the country”.
