The First Panel of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) resumes this Tuesday (21) the judgment of nucleus 4 of the case regarding an attempted coup d’état, after the 2022 elections. The group is considered to be propagating false information about the electoral system.
The trial will resume at 9 am, with the vote of the rapporteur, minister Alexandre de Moraes. The other ministers will then vote: Cristiano Zanin, Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia and Flávio Dino.
the expectation is that the trial will be concluded in this second session, with the analysis of the merits and definition of the dosimetry – the penalties – in an eventual conviction.
According to a complaint from the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), the defendants from group 4 were responsible for spreading “false news about the electoral process” and carrying out “virtual attacks on institutions and authorities that threatened the group’s interests”.
Who are the Core 4 defendants?
- Ailton Gonçalves Moraes Barros, reserve major;
- Ângelo Martins Denicoli, reserve major;
- Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, president of IVL (Instituto Voto Legal);
- Giancarlo Gomes Rodrigues, warrant officer;
- Guilherme Marques de Almeida, lieutenant colonel;
- Marcelo Araújo Bormevet, federal police officer; and
- Reginaldo Vieira de Abreu, coronel.
PGR requested conviction
Without sparing any of the defendants, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, asked for the conviction of the defendants from nucleus 4, considered a disinformation group.
The group is mainly made up of Army soldiers, who allegedly spread false news about the electronic voting system.
“The campaigns promoted by the accused, essential for the popular uprising against democratic institutions, are confirmed by the evidence in the case. It is clear that, through the actions of the defendants, the criminal organization capitalized on war and increasing informational violence”, alleged Gonet.
Ailton Gonçalves Moraes Barros
Defended by the DPU (Union Public Defender’s Office), Ailton Moraes’ defense requested the accused’s acquittal as they understood that there was no proof of the defendant’s participation in the crimes mentioned.
According to public defender Gustavo Zortea da Silva, the military did not coordinate campaigns to pressure Army commanders. He also mentioned that the Army major’s publications were used as political self-promotion.
Angelo Martins Denicoli
In oral argument, lawyer Zoser Plata Bondim Hardman de Araújo argued that the accusations against Ângelo are generic and devoid of individualized evidentiary support.
The lawyer also pointed out that the reserve major was unaware of the draft intervention decree and that he had no contact or dialogue with members of the other groups.
Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha
Defending the president of IVL (Instituto Voto Legal), Carlos Rocha, lawyer Melillo Dinis do Nascimento maintained that the defendant acted only within technical limits and did not participate in disinformation campaigns.
According to the lawyer, his client is an engineer specialized in electronic systems and was hired by the PL (Liberal Party) to carry out technical analysis on electronic voting machines.
For the defender, the responsibility for the study lay with the party and the president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, who made the disclosure and was not reported by the PGR.
Giancarlo Rodrigues
Lawyer Juliana Rodrigues Malafaia gave oral arguments in defense of defendant Giancarlo Rodrigues and stated that the defendant did not participate in a criminal organization. She pointed out that her client only knew one Marcelo Bormevet, who was his boss.
“The accused always reacted with the conviction that he was complying with these legitimate orders linked to the public interest, with no intention or awareness of the illegality of his conduct”, he maintained.
She also stated that Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) did not have full management over the FirstMile system and that the defendant used a shared login.
Guilherme Marques de Almeida
In defense of Lieutenant Colonel Guilherme Marques, lawyer Leonardo Coelho Avelar argued that his client did not produce content and did not participate in any criminal organization.
According to the defense, the military only forwarded 10 news links between the period of December 13, 2022 and January 9, 2023. “It should be noted that all the material came from news portals, with wide circulation and public access,” he said.
“The conduct is, therefore, criminally relevant, incapable of generating the risk to the protected legal interest that the criminal law requires”, added Avelar.
Marcelo Araújo Bormevet
In relation to federal police officer Marcelo Araújo Bormevet, lawyer Hassan Magid de Castro Souki highlighted that the conduct attributed to the defendant does not directly or indirectly fit into the criminal types charged by the PGR.
“Defending the issuance of a decree based on a belief in its constitutionality, I rephrase, based on a mistaken belief in its constitutionality, does not serve as proof of knowledge of the practice of criminal conduct by third parties. Therefore, the fact that they discussed whether or not to sign this decree does not demonstrate that they were aware of the activities of the alleged organization”, he declared in oral argument.
Reginaldo Abreu
The last argument was made by lawyer Diego Ricardo Marques, in defense of Army Colonel Reginaldo Abreu. According to the defender, the military did not act to pressure the Force commanders.
Marques stressed that the colonel only exchanged a few messages with General Mário Fernandes with content that he considered “unfortunate”. “It was not sent to the collective group with the intention of influencing people in camps or influencing people to take to the streets”, he added.
