Understand how Bolsonaro and seven other defendants will be interrogated
10 de June de 2025
By Ana Pastana – From Cenarium
MANAUS (AM) – The First Panel of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) will begin this Monday, the 9th, the interrogation of former president of the Republic, Jair Messias Bolsonaro (PL), and seven other defendants who are part of “Nucleus 1” of the criminal case investigating the coup plot following the 2022 elections. The testimonies are expected to take place in person, in alphabetical order, after the statement of the whistleblower, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, scheduled for 2 p.m. (Brasília time).
The former Minister of the Civil House and Defense, retired military officer Braga Netto, will be the only one to testify via videoconference. He has been in Rio de Janeiro since December last year, suspected of obstructing the investigations into the attempted coup.
The testimonies will be broadcast live by TV Justiça and the STF’s YouTube channel. If the interrogations are not completed on the first day, four additional sessions are scheduled to take place on the following days: June 10 at 9 a.m.; June 11 at 8 a.m.; June 12 at 9 a.m.; and June 13 at 9 a.m. (Brasília time).
The Workers’ Party (PT), as in the trial of the indictments in April this year, has been authorized by the STF to broadcast the hearings live on the party’s official communication channel.
Remember who the defendants are:
- Mauro Cid, former aide-de-camp of the Presidency;
In 2019, Mauro Cid assumed the position of Bolsonaro’s chief aide-de-camp in the Presidency of the Republic, after being appointed to the role the previous year. As aide, the lieutenant colonel became a “jack-of-all-trades” for Bolsonaro, taking on tasks such as assisting in live broadcasts and recording supporters of the then-president at the Palácio da Alvorada gates.
- Alexandre Ramagem, former director-general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) and federal deputy;
Currently a federal deputy for the Liberal Party (PL) of São Paulo, Alexandre Ramagem was director-general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) during Bolsonaro’s government (2019–2022). He also served as a Federal Police (PF) officer after joining the agency in 2005 and headed Bolsonaro’s security team during the 2018 presidential campaign.
In 2020, Bolsonaro appointed Ramagem to head the PF, but the appointment was suspended by Minister Alexandre de Moraes before taking office. In 2022, Ramagem left Abin to run for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies to strengthen PL’s legislative bench.
- Almir Garnier Santos, former Navy commander;
Almir served as special military advisor to four Ministers of Defense under Dilma Rousseff’s (PT) government between 2014 and 2016. In January 2023, when replaced at the start of Lula’s (PT) third term by Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, he broke protocol and did not attend his successor’s inauguration.
According to Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, in his plea bargain testimony, Garnier was sympathetic to a coup and told Bolsonaro “his troops would be ready to respond to a call from the then-president.”
- Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice and former Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District;
Former Minister of Justice under Bolsonaro, Anderson Torres is a Federal Police officer with a Law degree from the University Center of Brasília (Ceub) and holds expertise in Police Science, Criminal Investigation, and Strategic Intelligence from the War College (ESG). Torres led the PF’s Roraima Superintendency from 2003 to 2005.
In 2019, he became Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District during Ibaneis Rocha’s (MDB) administration and left the post in April 2021 to assume the Ministry of Justice and Public Security at Bolsonaro’s request. He remained until December 2022, when he returned to the DF government.
- Augusto Heleno, former head of the Institutional Security Office of the Presidency;
Augusto Heleno is a retired general of the Brazilian Army, having held senior positions such as commander of the Amazon Military Command (CMA) between 2007 and 2009, and head of the Army’s Department of Science and Technology.
Heleno was also an instructor at the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras (Aman), where he met Jair Bolsonaro in the 1970s. In 2019, at the president’s invitation, he assumed command of the Institutional Security Office (GSI), to which Abin is subordinated. From 2019 to 2022, he was one of the main figures in Bolsonaro’s inner circle.
- Jair Bolsonaro, former president of the Republic;
Elected president of Brazil with 55.13%, about 57,797,847 valid votes, in 2018, defeating Workers’ Party (PT) candidate Fernando Haddad. As president, he focused on attacking opponents, ignored WHO guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic, and undermined electronic voting machines and the judiciary. He was defeated in the 2022 elections by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
- Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former Minister of Defense;
Paulo Sérgio Nogueira is a Brazilian Army general. In 1994, as an officer, he was deputy commander of the 2nd Jungle Infantry Battalion in Belém and staff officer of the 12th Military Region in Manaus.
- Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of the Civil House and of Defense.
Walter Braga Netto is another Army general who was part of Bolsonaro’s close circle. He joined the Army in 1974 and held positions such as Chief of Staff of the 5th Armored Cavalry Brigade and commander of the Eastern Military Command (CML). During the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he served as chief coordinator of the Special Advisory Office.
STF Accepted the Complaint
On March 26 of this year, the First Panel of the STF unanimously accepted the complaint filed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) against Bolsonaro and seven others, who were under investigation at the time, for attempting to violently abolish the Democratic Rule of Law, attempted coup d’état, and three other crimes.
The reporting minister, Alexandre de Moraes, who was the first to vote on the second day of deliberation, presented images during his justification to refute claims that the January 8, 2022 attacks on the buildings of the Three Powers were peaceful and nonviolent.
The eight defendants are part of the first of five nuclei that will try a total of 34 individuals charged by the PGR. The first nucleus is called “The Core Crucial.”