The former Minister of Human Rights published a video on his social networks on Tuesday night (31) in which he once again defended his innocence in the face of the accusation of sexual harassment of the Minister of Racial Equality, .
The new public demonstration takes place after the (Attorney General’s Office) to the (Supreme Federal Court) this month, in a process that runs under secrecy and is led by the minister.
“I am an innocent man. What I have to say about this case I will say in the right place, in court. And it is there that I will be able to truly defend myself, presenting evidence and showing how such an important cause was used to take me out of political life. During the investigation, in practice, I was unable to defend myself”, says Almeida in the video.
The incident occurred in November 2025 by the PF and was based on suspicion of sexual harassment against Anielle and teacher Isabel Rodrigues. The PGR’s complaint, however, only addresses Anielle’s case. The second case was sent to the first instance to follow the case law, since, at the time of the events related to the teacher, Almeida was not a minister.
Presented on March 4 by the attorney general, the complaint states that there is evidence that supports Anielle’s report. Among the testimonies that corroborate the minister’s statements is that of the director general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues.
Silvio Almeida even said, in 2025, that Anielle had “lost herself in her character” and fallen into a political trap. Silvio Almeida’s stance since the information was revealed was to repudiate the accusations and deny that he had committed the alleged crimes.
This Tuesday, he once again stated that he will continue in public life despite the “irresponsible accusations”.
“The image of a powerful man was also created about me. But a powerful man, let’s face it, is not fired in 24 hours and without the right to defense. Irresponsible accusations have a place and a right time to be answered by justice. I have books to publish, articles and projects in the areas of education and also in law. In the coming weeks I will talk again about what I continue to do”, he stated.
After the PGR’s complaint was made public, Anielle stated that the new stage of the process is that they are experiencing or have experienced episodes of denouncing the aggressors and “not suffering in silence”. When contacted at the time, the former minister’s defense stated that the case remained confidential and reaffirmed previous statements that the accusations have no materiality and that they are conclusions.
Without directly mentioning Anielle’s name, Almeida states in the video published this Tuesday that “there are very predictable movements for those who have no achievements to show, no proposal to offer and who, therefore, go as far as to incriminate an innocent person just to eliminate the one they consider an adversary. Or to raise an electoral banner over a lie.”
The Minister of Racial Equality is among the members of the Lula government who must leave their positions to run in this year’s elections. She should run for federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro.
The messages were initially received by the organization Me Too Brasil. Victims reported cases of sexual harassment and harassment. Two investigations were opened to investigate the case, one and , at the request of the PF.
The case took President Lula to Almeida the day after the allegations were revealed, in September 2024. Before the decision, the PT member met separately with Almeida and, after publishing the resignation, with Anielle Franco. Since then, the Human Rights department has been headed by Macaé Evaristo.
Anielle confirmed the accusations in October 2024. According to her report, Almeida’s “inappropriate approaches”, as she defined it, began at the end of 2022, when the two became part of the government transition group appointed by Lula before his inauguration as President of the Republic.
To Veja magazine, the minister said that there were “inconvenient attitudes” on Almeida’s part, such as inappropriate touches and impertinent invitations, but that she did not report the episodes for “fear of discredit and judgment”, in addition to the feeling that the victim was to blame, not the aggressor.
In the case of the teacher, she published a video accusing the former minister of having touched her without consent during a lunch in the presence of other people, in 2019, before he became minister.
