Bolsonaro and former Minister of Defense defined positions and tasks in a coup d’état plan
February 19, 2025
Jair Bolsonaro and Braga Netto (Composition: Lucas Oliveira/CENARIUM)
By Ana Cláudia Leocádio – From Cenarium
BRASÍLIA (DF) – Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his former Defense Minister, Walter Souza Braga Netto, divided positions and defined strategic roles within the plan for a coup d’état. Documents and testimonies reveal that the duo organized the distribution of key positions in the plot to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) from taking office and to keep Bolsonaro in power.
The complaint by the General Attorney of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), details in minutiae how former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) led the coup d’état plot, one of the crimes for which he was indicted along with 33 other individuals, most of them military personnel from the Armed Forces.
According to Gonet, “the organization was led by the President of the Republic himself and his vice-presidential candidate, General Braga Netto,” emphasizing that both “accepted, encouraged, and carried out acts typified in criminal law as attacks against the legal assets of the existence and independence of powers and the democratic rule of law.“
“Responsibility for acts harmful to democratic order falls on a criminal organization led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, based on an authoritarian project of power. Rooted in the very structure of the State and with strong influence from military sectors, the organization developed in a hierarchical order and with a division of key tasks among its members,” Gonet states in the accusatory document.
General Attorney of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, is the author of the complaint against former President Jair Bolsonaro (Rosinei Coutinho/STF)
In the 272-page complaint, the General Attorney’s Office (PGR) affirms that identifying all the reported acts was only possible due to the conspirators’ meticulous documentation of the project. “During the investigations, handwritten notes, digital files, spreadsheets, and message exchanges revealing the march toward the rupture of democratic order were found,” the complaint states.
For the General Attorney, the progressive actions of the criminal organization began in July 2021 and extended until January 2023, culminating in the invasion of the buildings of the Three Branches of Government in Brasília, aimed at abolishing the democratic rule of law and overthrowing the legitimately elected government.
Crucial Core
Bolsonaro was listed as part of the core leadership of the organization, along with Alexandre Ramagem, Almir Garnier Santos, Anderson Gustavo Torres, Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira, and Walter Souza Braga Netto. These high-ranking members of the federal government and the Armed Forces were responsible for “the main decisions and actions of social impact described in the complaint.”
The then aide-de-camp of the former president, Mauro Cid, “although having decision-making autonomy, was also part of this core, acting as a spokesperson for Jair Messias Bolsonaro and transmitting instructions to other members of the group.”
The former director of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, along with Marília Ferreira de Alencar and Fernando de Sousa Oliveira, both from the Public Security Secretariat of the Federal District (SSP-DF), were responsible for “employing police forces to sustain Bolsonaro’s illegitimate hold on power.”
More than 1,500 participants in the extremist acts, seen as an attempted coup d’état, have already been detained (Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil)
The complaint indicates that General Mário Fernandes, then second in command at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, coordinated actions to monitor and neutralize public authorities, in conjunction with Marcelo Costa Câmara, as well as facilitating communication with popular leaders linked to the events of January 8, 2023.
Former international advisor to Bolsonaro, Felipe Garcia Martins Pereira, according to Gonet’s report, was the one who presented and defended the decree project that would have implemented exceptional measures in the country if the coup plan had succeeded.
According to the complaint, coercive actions were carried out by members of public security forces aligned with the anti-democratic plan. Among them was then-commander of Ground Operations Command (Coter), Estevam Cals Teóphilo Gaspar de Oliveira, who “agreed to coordinate the use of ground forces in accordance with the group’s directives.”
Military personnel dedicated to monitoring and neutralizing public authorities included Hélio Ferreira Lima, Rafael Martins de Oliveira, Rodrigo Bezerra de Azevedo, and Wladimir Matos Soares. Hélio Ferreira Lima was arrested and transferred from Brasília to the 7th Battalion of the Army Police, located in Manaus. Known as “black kids,” members of the Army’s Special Forces also played a crucial role in the plot reported by the PGR.
Gonet also describes the role of specialists Bernardo Romão Correa Netto, Cleverson Ney Magalhães, Fabrício Moreira de Bastos, Márcio Nunes de Resende Júnior, Nilton Diniz Rodrigues, Sergio Ricardo Cavaliere de Medeiros, and Ronald Ferreira de Araújo Junior, who conducted tactical actions to persuade and pressure the Army High Command to execute the coup.
The complaint also identifies those responsible for strategic disinformation operations, including Ailton Gonçalves Moraes Barros, Angelo Martins Denicoli, Paulo Renato de Oliveira Figueiredo Filho, Reginaldo Vieira de Abreu, Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, Giancarlo Gomes Rodrigues, Marcelo Araújo Bormevet, and Guilherme Marques de Almeida.
“They spread false news about the electoral process and launched virtual attacks against institutions and authorities that threatened the group’s interests. All were aware of the organization’s larger plan and the effectiveness of their actions in promoting social instability and achieving institutional rupture,” states Gonet.
Accountability
At the beginning of the complaint, Paulo Gonet makes it clear that in a republic, everyone is subject to accountability for criminal conduct. “The President of the Republic is not exempt from this rule, although, certainly, a criminal accusation against the Head of State, even after leaving office, cannot be trivialized as a mere continuation of political dispute, no matter how bitter the partisan environment has become,” he states.
“The crimes described did not occur instantaneously but unfolded through a chain of events, some more visible than others, always articulated toward the same objective—that the organization, led by then-President Jair Bolsonaro, would not leave power or would return to it by force, either through threats or direct action, in defiance of the will of the people as expressed at the polls. The inquiry reveals an attack on the existence of the three branches of government and the essence of the democratic rule of law,” concludes the General Attorney in his introduction.
Upon receiving the complaint, the case’s reporting minister, Alexandre de Moraes, will decide whether to accept or dismiss it, as well as whether to bring it before a panel decision. If accepted, the accused will become defendants in a criminal case, following normal proceedings, including the right to defense, final arguments, and final judgment. Moraes may also request modifications to the PGR’s complaint if inconsistencies are found.
Crimes Bolsonaro has been Indicted For
Deterioration of protected property: Destruction of a legally protected asset. Punishment: 1 to 3 years imprisonment and a fine;
Armed criminal organization: Promotion, constitution, financing, or integration of a criminal organization. Punishment: 3 to 8 years imprisonment;
Attempt to violently abolish the Democratic Rule of Law: Employing violence or grave threats to abolish the democratic rule of law. Punishment: 4 to 8 years imprisonment;
Coup d’état: Attempting to overthrow a legitimately constituted government through violence or grave threats. Punishment: 4 to 12 years imprisonment;
Qualified damage by violence and grave threats against Union property, with considerable damage to the victim: Punishment: 6 months to 3 years imprisonment and a fine, in addition to penalties corresponding to violence.
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