Lawyer said it was a one-off error lasting 2 minutes and that he will request the immediate revocation of “all precautionary measures”
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the (Federal Supreme Court), asked on Saturday (25.Oct.2025) for explanations about the loss of the GPS signal from the electronic ankle bracelet of Filipe Martins, former advisor for International Affairs to the former president (PL) and one of the defendants in group 2 of the attempted coup d’état in 2022.
In the order, Moraes ordered the former advisor’s lawyers to explain a movement without a GPS signal, initiated “on 10/23/2025, at 5:50:43 pm, and concluded on 10/23/2025, at 6:53:22 pm, with a total duration of 01:02:39”. The minister, rapporteur of the case at the Supreme Court, gave 5 days for the explanations to be presented, under penalty of the defendant’s immediate arrest.
One of Filipe Martins’ lawyers said on X (formerly Twitter) that the report sent to the STF only stated that the ankle bracelet suffered a specific failure, with duration of 2 minuteswhile the defendant was at home and at a time when, according to him, there was no obligation to stay at home.
Read below an excerpt from the report from the Electronic Monitoring Division of the Paraná Penal Police sent to Moraes:
Chiquini argued that Martins did not violate the precautionary measures once during the 14 months of house arrest. According to him, the response to the order will be carried out calmly.
The lawyer also stated that he will request the immediate revocation “of all the abusive and illegal precautions, which originated from the infamous trip that never took place and which were never properly justified, but which have prevented Filipe Martins from accessing social media, giving interviews and having a minimally normal life”.
The final arguments of Martins and the other defendants have already been presented. The core 2 trial for the sessions of December 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th.
In February 2024, Filipe Martins was arrested on charges of being on the run, although he was promptly found in Paraná. One of the accusations was that he could flee Brazil because of an alleged trip to the United States together with the former president on December 30, 2022.
After his arrest, the defense presented several material evidence about him not having left the country, including travel vouchers on December 31, 2022 bound for Paraná.
The case was the target of a statement from the CBP (US Customs and Border Protection), which published a note on October 10, declaring that Martins did not enter the US on the date indicated by the PF and that the minister was based on “false information” to order preventive detention.
Throughout the process, other evidence appeared indicating that the former advisor’s departure to the USA was not true. Still, Alexandre de Moraes kept Martins in prison for around 6 months.
To this day, Bolsonaro’s former advisor is banned from social media and prohibited from giving interviews to the media.
In the October 16 decision, Moraes writes: “During the procedural investigation of this criminal action and in closing arguments, the defense of Filipe Garcia Martins Pereira presented documents to indicate that the defendant Filipe Garcia Martins Pereira would not have entered the United States of America on 12/30/2022”. Read the order (PDF – 135 kB).
However, the minister does not explain why he has so far ignored previous information he received and which was widely published by the media, including the Poder360.
Material elements demonstrated that Martins had not left for the USA in December 2022. Moraes’ decision, however, only came after new evidence that the Federal Police’s claim about Martins’ escape was wrong.
As per Poder360investigators cite outdated data from the North American entry registration system into the country. Martins’ defense demonstrated that it would not be possible to confirm entry in December 2022, since the former advisor did not have a passport.
A police report from the PCDF (Civil Police of the Federal District) from March 2021 shows that Martins had lost the document on February 26. Here’s the (PDF – 55 kB).
The police document was presented by Martins’ defense. With the bulletin, the US government updated registration information, confirming that the last date of entry into the United States is August 30, 2019, not December 30, 2022.
NO INTERVIEWS
Alexandre de Moraes Filipe Martins of give interview to the Poder360 “in order to avoid the risk of turmoil at this procedural moment”. The judge did not elaborate on what he understands to be a “risk of riot”. Read the of the July 2025 decision (PDF – 145 kB).
The request of the Poder360 it was filed with the STF on March 12, 2025. In the application, this digital newspaper claimed that carrying out the interview is not irreconcilable with due respect for the precautionary measures imposed (read below what they are) and says there is a public interest.
O Poder360 also stated that authorization to carry out the interview is a “an essential measure to meet the undeniable public interest involved and based on freedom of the press and information, whilst also safeguarding equal treatment between defendants”. Moraes did not respond to this argument presented, about there being a need to “equal treatment between defendants”.
“It is necessary to differentiate between the journalistic activity to be carried out by a professional and competent press vehicle when publishing an interview of clear public interest and any communication between the investigated party and third parties that qualifies as a violation of the current precautionary measure. […] It is clear that the person being investigated must be aware of all their obligations before this STF and in view of the ongoing investigation. He must, therefore, when granting the interview, respect all the terms of all precautions imposed. And if he doesn’t, he must certainly be held accountable. […] However, depriving it of any and all manifestations –of undeniable public interest, it is emphasized– does not seem like the right option to us. It represents the imposition of a silence that can be classified as prior censorship – a censorship that the Federal Supreme Court has repudiated so many times throughout history”argued the Poder360 in the request that was rejected by Moraes.
The digital newspaper appealed to the 1st Panel. The action is still awaiting judgment.
Read more about the Filipe Martins case:
