The (Federal Supreme Court) is at a vote to have a majority to condemn the former president () on charges of leading an attempt to coup and seven other defendants denounced by the central core of a plot to remain in power after defeat in the 2022 elections.
The ministers and voted on Tuesday (9) to condemn the eight defendants in trial for the five crimes for which they are accused: Abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, attempted coup, criminal association, qualified damage against the union’s assets and deterioration of overturned assets.
Dino to former ministers Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and former director of Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) Alexandre Ramagem, understanding that there was less participation of the three.
The minister will be the third to vote on Wednesday morning (10). It is expected that he will present disagreements in relation to Moraes and Dino. If he votes for the defendants’ conviction for any of the crimes, a majority formed among the five ministers of the First Class will be formed. Otherwise, Carmen Lúcia will be the next minister to compose this picture. After her, she will remain to vote for Minister Cristiano Zanin.
Tuesday’s session also marked the reinforcement of a front of court ministers against an amnesty to the convicts in the case. In his vote, Minister Flávio Dino stated that there is no pardon for the type of crime under analysis. Moraes had already made several signs in the same direction and reinforced this position at the opening of the trial, last Sunday (7).
Moraes opened the vote, as a rapporteur of the process, and stated that there was no doubt that an attempted coup d’état that culminated in the attacks of January 8, 2023. For about five hours, he emphasized the understanding that Bolsonaro was the leader of the joints to stay in power.
According to him, Bolsonaro was the head of a criminal organization who began acting in 2021. Moraes stated that the accused acted in “unit of designs”, pointing out that the group acted over time with a common purpose, to extend the permanence in power and to avoid the rise of the elected government.
“The leader of the criminal group makes clear, in a public, in a public way, that he would never accept a defeat in the polls, a democratic defeat in the elections, which would never fulfill popular will,” he said of the role of the former president.
The attribution of leadership position, in case of support by the majority of the first class, must impose on Bolsonaro an aggravating factor, with a penalty greater than the other defendants.
Dino, in turn, said that “there is no doubt” that the former president and former minister have held a prominent position in the criminal organization. “[Eles] They had mastery of all the events narrated in the file, “he added.
Lawyer Celso Vilardi, who represents Bolsonaro, said the former president’s defense will respect the Supreme’s decision, but that he disagrees with the ministers. “We disagree with the merit analysis, but we will wait for the trial to continue.”
At the session, Dino gave an emphatic statement against amnesty to the convicts, who gained political traction in Congress in recent weeks, with the involvement of characters such as the governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas (Republicans).
The minister pointed out that the Supreme Court decided on the impossibility of forgiveness for crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law to overthrow Bolsonaro’s pardon to former Deputy Daniel Silveira (at the time at PTB-RJ).
“These criminal types are unmistakable, unequivocally. We have already had a lot of amnesties in Brazil. Right or not, we are not a court of history, we are court of positive law of concrete facts. But it is true that there has never been amnesty for the benefit of the dominant power,” he said.
In a previous session, Moraes had stated that pacification could never be obtained with impunity, signaling the need to apply to the accused. On Sunday, after Tarcisio criticized the Supreme Court and defended the amnesty, Gilmar Mendes stated that “crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law are unsustible of forgiveness.”
The three form a front line against an amnesty, which could be considered unconstitutional by the Supreme in case of approval. Other ministers, such as President Luis Roberto Barroso, said it publicly, indicating that it was contrary to an interference from the Court.
Plot steps
Moraes and Dino pointed out that the coup plot began with a campaign to attack the credibility of the electronic voting system in the country.
Moraes indicated the involvement of the Armed Forces in a Bolsonaro action to reduce confidence in the electronic ballot boxes, and the final chapter of the plot with attacks on the Praça dos Three Powers, which would represent a call to the intervention of the military.
He said identifying skills and Bolsonaro participation techniques in meetings in which plans were discussed. The minister pointed out “Jair Bolsonaro’s knowledge and consent over the plan of neutralization of public authorities”, in reference to the proposal prepared by General Mário Fernandes that involved the arrest of Moraes and the murder of Lula (PT), then elected president.
“There are many unexplored coincidences. All the conversation for the implementation of Operation Cup 2022 … on the first day, where General Mário Fernandes printed […] In the Planalto Palace and met with Jair Bolsonaro in the palace of Alvorada, “said Moraes.
“It is not believable, it is not reasonable that Mário Fernandes printed and headed for Alvorada, where the president was, spent 1 hour and 6 minutes and made paper boat with green and yellow printing. That is to ridicule the intelligence of the court,” he said.
Moraes also attributed to the defendants the practice of so -called executory acts, which would differ from a mere preparation for the commission of a crime. These acts would include, for example, attacks on the electronic ballot boxes, the performance of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) during the second round of 2022 and the maintenance of scammer camps in front of the army barracks.
“We had several other executing acts until the January 8th scam attempt,” he said.
Moraes and Dino have opposed the thesis that the crime of coup d’état should absorb that of abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law. He says the two are different criminal types and therefore the two feathers would apply to the defendants.
“What if, by hypothesis, those already convicted by the Court had invaded only the Planalto Palace? That was not what happened. It was a raid on the Democratic Rule of Law-there was no crime-middle and crime-end, but two devaluation conduct that deserves to be measured because there are no irrelevant penalties that must be sucked by a crime that absorbs it,” Dino said.
He accompanied Moraes in the decision to condemn the seven defendants, but presented a caveat about former ministers Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and former director of ABIN (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) Alexandre Ramagem.
According to Dino, there are fewer evidence about the participation of these three defendants in the final months of the Bolsonaro government. The minister defended their conviction, but that the “minor participation” is except for the size of the penalty.
