A (Federal Supreme Court) begins this Monday (19) the phase of what the former president (PL) and other defendants have.
The first people to hear will be those indicated by the (Attorney General’s Office), especially the former Army commander.
The military was the first to confirm to the Federal Police that Bolsonaro summoned him to a meeting at the Alvorada Palace in December 2022. He told investigators that the then president presented to military heads the document known as a coup draft, which provided for intervention in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) after the elections.
“Confirming that the content of the draft decree presented was exposed to the declarant in these meetings. Which points out that he left Bolsonaro and the Defense Minister evidenced [general Paulo Sérgio Nogueira] That the Army would not accept any act of institutional rupture, “said Freire Gomes, according to the Testimonial Term.
The former army chief told Bolsonaro’s document had identical content to the draft decree found at the former Minister of Justice-also defendant for the coup plot.
The general also says that the chief of the Navy, Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, would have agreed with the democratic rupture proposal presented by the former president.
“That he and Baptista [Júnior, ex-chefe da Aeronáutica] They statedly affirmed their positions contrary to the exposed content. That would not have legal support to take any attitude. Which believes, from what it is remembered, that Admiral Garnier would have made himself available to the President of the Republic, “said the military, according to the PF.
Freire Gomes’s testimony was one of the bases of the PGR complaint against the central core of the coup plot – the agency told the complaint according to what the acting groups would be.
Freire Gomes and former Aeronautics chief were the only witnesses of the military circle that admitted to the conspiracies in the Dawn Palace at the end of 2022.
The statements of the former Army commander became known in March 2024, when he was already in the reserve. He decided to submerge in his public exposure.
A Sheet He talked to seven general officers who lived with Freire Gomes at the end of 2022. The former commander’s disappearance is a matter of concern for some. At the end of the last year, a group of officers even planned to get a fraternization to rediscover colleagues.
The meeting was solely intended to integrate Freire Gomes after a long period from the army’s HQ. It was agreed that they would order pizza. The general reported that he would not go, and the event was canceled.
Another general officer near Freire Gomes said he found him only once after the Bolsonaro government ended. They talked amenities for two hours while drank whiskey. Did not touch the subject of investigations of the Federal Police.
There are several reasons why Freire Gomes’s testimony is one of the most anticipated by the people involved in the coup plot.
The prosecution hopes that the general reinforces the testimony about the pressures by a coup that received at the end of 2022. The defenses intend to take advantage of possible slips from the military to question his statement. Generals want the end of the process for their colleague to return to military circles.
The testimonials must start at 15h this Monday. The press will be able to follow the hearing for video conferencing within the plenary of the First Class of the STF – with the prohibition to record audios and videos of the testimony, under penalty of criminal liability.
The first day of hearings will have the testimonies of Freire Gomes, Clebson Ferreira de Paula Vieira (former member of the Ministry of Justice), Adiel Pereira Alcântara (former PRF director) and Éder Lindsay Magalhães Balbino (owner of a company hired by the PL to oversee the electoral process).
Former Air Force Commander Brigadeiro Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior had the statement postponed to Wednesday (21). He is traveling outside the country.
The Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, had appointed the governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), as the last of his witnesses. The prosecutor gave up on the emedebista’s inquiry on Friday (16).
The witnesses of the defenses will only be heard after the persons indicated by the prosecution. The Supreme will devote two weeks to the testimonials.
the hearings with the witnesses listed by the defenses are in danger of being emptied, as Minister Alexandre de Moraes decided not to summon the persons indicated by the defendants – so, the presence is no longer mandatory.
To circumvent the difficulty, defendants’ defenses have appealed to various strategies to ensure the presence of witnesses. Some have notified people by a warning of receipt, and others seek deponents individually and try to convince the importance of participation in the hearing.
