Bolsonarist remains fugitive after planning to explode a bomb in Brasília
12 de August de 2025
By Fabyo Cruz – From Cenarium
BELÉM (PA) – George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, a businessman born in Ceará and residing in Xinguara, in southeastern Pará, has been on the run for over a month and a half. He was convicted of planning to explode a fuel truck near the Brasília International Airport in December 2022. The arrest warrant was issued on June 25 by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), based on a complaint from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
George Washington left Pará for Brasília carrying weapons, explosives, and ammunition. According to the Civil Police of the Federal District (PC-DF), he confessed to placing the bomb in the vehicle, claimed to have spent R$170,000 on weaponry, and said he was “prepared for war.” At the time, he stated that he was waiting for a “call from the Army.” For the PGR, the objective was to instill widespread fear and establish a state of exception in the country after the defeat of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the elections.
The plan was coordinated with Alan Diego dos Santos Rodrigues and Wellington Macedo de Souza, who are imprisoned in Mato Grosso and in the Federal District. The bomb, installed on the rear axle of a fuel truck parked near the capital’s air base, was discovered and removed by the driver before detonation.
Although initially identified as a businessman, George Washington describes himself as a gas station manager. He was once the owner of G W de O Sousa & Cia Ltda Epp, a company fined by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama). The business later changed its name and owners, starting to operate in Belém as Petróleos Miramar, in the field of hazardous products transportation and lubricants trade.
Married and father of two, he listed as his business address the Cavalo de Aço gas station in Xinguara, registered in the name of two women. One of his sons owns a restaurant in the same city.
In May 2023, George Washington was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison for three crimes: “endangering the life, physical integrity, or property of another,” “causing fire in fuel or flammable material,” and “illegal possession of a firearm and explosive device.” In February 2025, he was authorized to serve his sentence under open regime, a decision overturned in June when the STF took over the case due to its connection with the January 8 coup acts and other anti-democratic demonstrations.
On July 18, Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the defendant to be notified by public notice, a procedure used when the accused is in an “unknown and unspecified location.” The 15-day deadline for a response expired without any statement. CENARIUM was unable to contact the defense, and George Washington does not have a lawyer appointed in the case pending before the STF.