The minister, of the (Federal Supreme Court), said this Tuesday (16) that the second round of the 2022 elections was “one of the most vexatious moments for a respected institution like “.
When voting in the trial of the nucleus of the coup plot, the former director of the government body (PL), the magistrate mentioned in his vote the accusation by the (Attorney General’s Office) that the Ministry of Justice devised a plan to make it difficult for (PT) voters to reach their polling places, with the concentration of police raids in cities where the PT member had achieved a more expressive vote in the first round.
This Tuesday (16), the First Panel judges the defendants at the core of the coup plot that involves members of the Bolsonaro government and, according to the PGR, articulated measures to enable a coup d’état.
After Moraes, ministers Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia and Flávio Dino still vote in the First Panel.
According to Moraes, the evidence shows that there was, at the core of the trial, “a salvationist discourse, but to save the people from voting in the elections and for the people to democratically choose their leaders”. “It’s megalomaniacal salvationism,” he said.
The rapporteur of the case was president of the (Superior Electoral Court) at the time. According to him, during the period, “there was every indication that, in the case of any operation carried out to obstruct voters’ access to the polls, this would be considered a crime against democracy.”
Moraes said that, on Sunday of the second round, the TSE was surprised by images on social media and in reports that showed blockades in strongholds of Lula voters.
The accusations against the group judged this Tuesday are for five crimes: attempted abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, armed criminal organization, qualified damage and deterioration of listed property.
In addition to the raids by the Federal Highway Police in the second round of the 2022 elections, the trial also deals with Bolsonaro’s former advisor, accused of having presented the first version of the coup draft.
The document contained a series of “recitals” as a technical and legal basis for the action. According to the complaint, Bolsonaro asked for edits to the text and then presented the proposal to the heads of the Armed Forces.
The former president told the Supreme Court, however, that he had never had contact with a draft that would support a democratic rupture in 2022.
Of the group being judged, retired general Mário Fernandes, former executive secretary of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, has one of the most complicated situations in the Supreme Court. The Federal Police found documents with the military planning the murder of Lula and vice Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) with the use of military weapons or poisoning at a public event, in addition to Moraes.
During interrogation at the STF, the general stated that the “Green and Yellow Dagger” file, found on his computer, was “digitized thoughts” and that it was never shared with anyone.
Those accused of the so-called second nucleus are Silvinei Vasques, Filipe Martins, Fernando de Souza Oliveira (former member of the Ministry of Justice), Marcelo Costa Câmara (former advisor to the Presidency), Marília Ferreira (former member of the Ministry of Justice) and Mário Fernandes.
To date, the court has sentenced 24 defendants. On November 18, the First Panel acquitted one of those involved for the first time, retired general Estevam Theophilo, of all charges due to lack of evidence.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that Bolsonaro and his allies constituted a criminal organization from June 29, 2021 until January 8, 2023.
Also according to the complaint, the then director of Intelligence at the Ministry of Justice, Marília Ferreira, requested the preparation of an intelligence report to detail the places where Lula had obtained the most votes.
The PGR maintains that Silvinei followed the instructions issued by the Ministry of Justice and directed resources to “illegally prevent Jair Bolsonaro from losing power.”
Former advisor Marcelo Câmara monitored Alexandre de Moraes’ location after Lula’s election. He argues that he did so through open sources, such as public calendars, after Bolsonaro suspected that Vice President Hamilton Mourão was secretly meeting the Supreme Court minister.
