The indictment of the former president Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other peopleaccused by the Federal Police (PF) of having planned and executed actions for a coup d’état, is having repercussions among politicians and authorities, this Thursday afternoon (21). One of the first to speak out was the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, who praised the fight against attempts to violate the democratic regime.
“The news of indictments by the PF of the former president and members of the core of his government for committing the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état and criminal organization offers the country the possibility of carrying out an effective reaction to the attacks to our democracy, a valuable and indelible achievement of the Brazilian people”, said Messias.
In the early afternoon of this Thursday, the PF confirmed the sending of the final investigation report to the Federal Supreme Court (STF). In addition to Bolsonaro, among those indicted for the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état and criminal organization are former Navy commander Almir Garnier Santos; federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), former director of the Brazilian Information Agency (Abin); former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres; the former minister of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) Augusto Heleno; Army lieutenant colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp; the president of PL, Valdemar Costa Neto; and the former Minister of the Civil House and Defense, Walter Souza Braga Netto.
“We see with absolute perplexity and indignation the information that was revealed by the investigation, where we find the former President of the Republic himself at the top of the chain of command of the criminal organization, generals, colonels, civil servants of the federal government who were part of of the core of the campaign and the Bolsonaro government. Plotting against democracy with almost unbelievable audacity, without any type of limit, to the point of plotting against the very lives of President Lula, Vice President Alckmin and the [ex] President of the Superior Electoral Court, Alexandre de Moraes. These are very serious crimes, they are very serious accusations”, stated the minister of the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom), Paulo Pimenta.
The leader of the opposition in the Senate, Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), former minister and close ally of Bolsonaro, attributed the indictments to narratives constructed in recent years. He also asked the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to carefully analyze the PF investigation.
“Given all the narratives constructed over the last few years, the indictment of President Jair Bolsonaro, President Valdemar Costa Neto and 35 other people, communicated on this date by the Federal Police, was not only expected but represents a continuation of the process of incessant political persecution of the political spectrum they represent. It is expected that the Attorney General’s Office, when called upon by the Federal Supreme Court, can carry out its institutional mission with serenity, independence and impartiality, effectively addressing it. on concrete evidence and definitively moving away from mere conclusions”, he stated.
The senator continued: “By reaffirming our commitment to maintaining the rule of law, we trust that the reestablishment of the truth will end a long sequence of political narratives devoid of factual support, with the reestablishment of institutional normality and the strengthening of our democracy.”
PT’s national president, Gleisi Hoffmann, defended prison sentences for those accused of a coup d’état. “The indictment of Jair Bolsonaro and his gang, based in Planalto, opens the way for everyone to pay in court for the crimes they committed against Brazil and democracy: trying to rig elections, assassinating authorities and installing a dictatorship. Prison is the they deserve it! No amnesty!”, he posted.
Before delivering the PF report, the President Lula commentedduring an event at Palácio do Planalto, the plans revealed by investigators regarding his assassination attempt []in 2022, in the context of the preparation of the coup d’état prepared by military personnel and members of the previous government. “I have to be much more grateful now because I’m alive. The attempt to poison me, me and the [vice-presidente, Geraldo] Alckmin, it didn’t work, we’re here”, he said.
After the indictment, the former president Jair Bolsonaro published it on his social network account excerpts from his interview with the Metrópoles news portal, in which he criticizes Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, rapporteur of the case, and informs that he will wait for his lawyer to evaluate the next steps. The PF report, which has around 800 pages, is confidential and should be sent by Alexandre de Moraes to the PGR in the coming days. It will be up to the Attorney General’s Office to assess whether to file charges against the suspects or demand further investigations.
