The (Superior Electoral Court) ordered the removal of posts on social media that associate the senator (-RJ), pre-candidate for the Presidency, with .
The preliminary decision was issued on Monday (22) by Minister Estela Aranha. Now, the case will be submitted to the TSE plenary for evaluation by the other ministers. A trial date has not yet been set. Meanwhile, the minister’s decision remains in force.
The judge analyzed a representation presented by the PL national directory. The process targets the PT federal deputies (PR), (RJ) and Rogério Correia (MG), and the minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, ().
Left-wing profile administrators are also targeted. The process mentions those responsible for the accounts “in the Chamber”, “Lula counts on me”, “Brasil pra Frente”, “Anti Bolsonaro Real” and “Lázaro Rosa”, in addition to Aurilene Monteiro, a businesswoman known as “Gata Canhota”, identified as responsible for the profile of a legal entity on a social network.
The PL argued in the representation that posts associating criminal factions were widely disseminated on different social networks. According to the party, the posts were intended to build an alleged connection between the presidential candidate and organized crime, placing the senator’s image at the center of outside investigations, with the potential to mislead the electorate.
Estela Aranha considered that “the published content goes beyond the limits of permissible political criticism”. According to her, “the publications are not restricted to the expression of opinion or public debate on political positions”, but “construct a narrative that associates the pre-candidate with criminal organizations, including Comando Vermelho, without indicating any concrete data, formal investigation or legal imputation that links him to the police operation”.
“The generic imputation of links with organized crime, when not supported by concrete data, characterizes seriously uninformative and offensive content, capable of constituting negative early electoral propaganda”, wrote the minister in the decision.
The injunction determines the removal of publications within 24 hours, under penalty of a daily fine. The politicians and profiles mentioned are also prohibited from republishing, boosting or disseminating equivalent content. The minister also ordered the notification of digital platforms to comply with the court order.
