The report released by the Federal Police (PF), this Thursday (26), of the alleged attempted coup d’état that led to the indictment of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and 36 other people, accused general Walter Braga Netto of pressure the commanders of the Army, General Marco Antônio Freire Gomes, and the Air Force, Lieutenant-Brigadier Carlos Baptista Júnior, to join the supposed coup plan.
The information was revealed after Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), lifted the confidentiality of the investigations.
In the document, the investigators claim that “strong and robust evidence was identified that demonstrates the active participation, throughout December 2022, of General Braga Netto in the coordinated attempt by those investigated to pressure the Air Force and Army commanders to adhere to the plan that aimed to abolish the Democratic Rule of Law”.
“The evidence described throughout this report demonstrated that the Navy commander, Admiral Almir Garnier, and the Minister of Defense, Paulo Sérgio, joined the coup attempt. However, commanders Freire Gomes, from the Army, and Baptista Júnior, from the Air Force, were against any measure that would cause institutional rupture in the country. In view of this, Jair Bolsonaro sought and obtained the support of the then commander of the Land Operations Command (Coter), General Estevam Theóphilo”, says another excerpt from the PF report.
A People’s Gazette has already contacted Braga Netto’s advisor regarding the statements and is awaiting a response. On Friday (22), the general denied any plans for a coup. “It was never a coup, much less a plan to murder someone. Now part of the press comes up with this fanciful and absurd thesis of a “coup within a coup”. Let there be creativity”, said the former Minister of the Civil House in his profile of the “X”.
The revelations are not new. In March of this year, Minister Alexandre de Moraes had already lifted the confidentiality of the military’s statements regarding Braga Netto’s actions. In a conversation with retired colonel Ailton Barros, via WhatsApp, he blamed Freire Gomes for not agreeing with the alleged coup plan.
“My friend, unfortunately I have to say that the fault for what is happening and will happen lies with Gen. FREIRE GOMES. Omission and indecision are not the responsibility of a combatant”, said the former head of Bolsonaro’s Civil House.
In other conversations, the general encourages criticism of the then Air Force commander, Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, whom he refers to as a “traitor to the country”. At the time, the PF pointed out that the conversations “evidenced Braga Netto’s participation and support” in an attempted coup d’état. The investigators cite the general’s actions “including in measures aimed at inciting members of the Armed Forces who were not in line with the coup’s intentions.”
PF says Braga Netto discussed coup plan with priest
Also according to the report, Braga Netto would have met with priest José Eduardo and lawyer Amauri Feres Saad to discuss legal aspects of the supposed plan. The meeting would have taken place on December 7, 2022, at Bolsonaro’s then campaign committee, in Lago Sul in Brasília. For the PF, the religious man was part of the legal core of the alleged criminal organization.
The PF claims the meeting was held based on Saad and Eduardo’s cell phone signals. Both would have registered a cell phone connection with the PL committee at the same time
“The residence used by former President Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign committee, in the Lago Sul region in Brasília/DF, after the end of the 2022 election, in the months of November and December, was used by General Braga Netto to hold meetings with people who advocated military intervention […] In the context of the participation of José Eduardo and Amauri Saad as members of the legal core of the criminal organization, it is necessary to record new evidence that highlights the link with the facts investigated”, states the report.
PF says Braga Netto would be coordinator of the coup
The Federal Police also accuses the former head of the Civil House of being responsible for receiving the operational planning for Special Forces actions to carry out the coup. The investigation would have revealed that the coup plan also intended to create a “Crisis Management Office”, which would be commanded by Braga Netto, as general coordinator, and by the then chief minister of the Institutional Security Office (GSI), the retired general Augusto Heleno, who would be the chief of staff.
For investigators, the objective would be to “advise” Bolsonaro in the administration of the country after the coup takes place.
“General Augusto Heleno would be the chief of staff, with General Braga Netto as general coordinator. Just below the two most important, General Mario Fernandes himself and Colonel Elcio Mario Fernandes would be part of the strategic advisory”, says the report from PF. The document also cites the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, whistleblower in the case, who pointed out that one of the meetings to discuss the coup was held at Braga Netto’s residence, on November 12, 2022.
