Former Bolsonaro’s orders of orders presents prior defense to the court after becoming a defendant for attempted coup d’état
Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid’s lawyers presented on Wednesday (23.br.2025) to (Supreme Federal Court) their prior defense. In the document, they call for the summary acquittal of the former (PL) orders in (PL) in which he accuses him of participating in an attempted coup d’état in 2022.
Cid’s defense claims that the assistant of orders was a “Simple spokesman” of Bolsonaro. It also indicates 9 witnesses that make up the Army to help prove its innocence and full access to the tests, including the media obtained on the lieutenant colonel’s own mobile phone, if the request for acquittal is not answered. Read the document (PDF – 466 KB).
Read the list of witnesses below:
- Army General Marco Antonio Freire Gomes, army commander during the Bolsonaro government in 2022, which, according to PGR, to the attempted coup;
- Army General Julius César de Arruda, commander of the Lula government army in 2023, in the first month of the petista management in a moment of tension with the military;
- Division General Flávio Alvarenga Filho;
- Division General João Batista Bezerra Leonel Filho;
- Division General Edson Diehl Ripoli;
- Colonel Fernando Linhares Dreux;
- Captain Raphael Maciel Monteiro;
- Captain Adriano Alves Teperino; and
- Sergeant Luís Marcos dos Reis.
The request refers to the 1st phase of the criminal proceedings on March 26 against the central core of crimes for which Cid, Bolsonaro and 6 other allies respond as defendants. The military was the 1st to present the defense because he signed an award -winning plea agreement with the PF (Federal Police). Now the others involved should be summoned to present their own defenses.
The lawyers argue that the activities narrated in the complaint of the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) were performed in the fulfillment of the function of ICD. According to the defense, this prevents him from being guilty because he had no intention of committing the crime of integrating a criminal organization.
“His activities as an order assistant were limited and linked to the strict fulfillment of his functional duty, when the criminal type requires integration into a criminal organization to be on his own will, never by representation of someone or order compliance.”write.
They also claim that their function was that of “Pass” information to authorities close to the then president Bolsonaro and that “At no time did the creation of content to groups of protesters go to maintain the mobilization in front of the barracks”.
According to PGR, Cid was reportedly responsible for encouraging the mobilization of protesters in front of the Army Headquarters in Brasilia in the days before the invasion of the headquarters of the three powers on January 8, 2023.
Still on extremist acts, the defense argues that the military did not know the facts and that the accusation is based on “Supposition about information that rolled in Whatsapp groups”.
“This issue of protests and marches, in Mauro Cid’s head, was already resolved, especially given that then President Jair Bolsonaro had already left the nation’s leadership, passing the command to the president -elect, [PT]”they claim.
