Brazil will investigate and try the military involved in the coup

The Supreme Court of Brazil will try civilians and soldiers who were involved in the anti-democratic acts of January 8, as determined this Monday (02.27.2023) by Judge Alexandre de Moares.

In his decision, De Moraes highlighted the “competence” of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for the case “without distinguishing civilians and military” and, incidentally, authorized the Federal Police to “establish” an investigation for “eventual crimes” committed by military.

The magistrate relied on the Antiterrorist Statute that stipulates that in “acts that attempt against the democratic regime” Justice “is not associated with the military function”, which has its own jurisprudence.

The Federal Police had asked the Supreme Court for authorization to investigate the “supposed participation” of members of the Armed Forces and the Militarized Police in the crime of “violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and coup d’état.”

De Moraes, in the same decision, extended the investigations for the coup acts by sixty days and by ninety those that are advancing on the “anti-democratic digital militias” that would have promoted them through social networks.

The investigations are part of the process on the violent assault on the three powers that occurred on January 8 and that almost 2,000 detainees -with a third still arrested- and ongoing police operations.

That day, a mob of radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded and vandalized the offices of the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia, in an attempted coup against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In parallel, the Federal Police has launched Operation “Lesa Patria” in search of those who “participated, financed, omitted or encouraged” the invasion of powers and that has splashed members of the Militarized Police.