The Regional Electoral Court of Minas Gerais (TRE-MG) judges this Wednesday, in a hybrid session, an action that could lead to the loss of the mandate of deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL). The parliamentarian is a defendant in the case for having made posts attacking electronic voting machines and allegedly spreading false information about the Brazilian electoral system in 2022. At the time, the then Belo Horizonte councilor was running for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies.
Two cases against Nikolas were brought together for trial, authored by former PSOL candidate Sara Azevedo and the Brazilian Federation of Hope (PT, PCdoB and PV). The authors call for the parliamentarian’s conviction for misuse of the media and abuse of political and economic power.
Candidate for Senate in 2022, Sara Azevedo stated that Nikolas, with a large reach on social media, published content considered to be known to be untrue or seriously out of context on platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. She argued that the posts cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process and democratic institutions and motivated anti-democratic movements. With these acts, the then candidate would have compromised the voters’ right to freely and consciously cast their vote.
Opportunity with security!
Nikolas was also accused of being part of a “misinformation ecosystem” linked to Bolsonarism, with organization and financing. The Court authorized the sending of letters to Twitter and YouTube, but denied requests to break tax and banking secrecy.
The parliamentarian’s defense argued that Nikolas’ posts were spontaneous, with no intention of disseminating false information or attacking the electoral system. He also stated that the parliamentarian only defended an investigation, by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), of alleged complaints linked to electronic voting machines.
