A new batch of leaked documents, revealed by American journalist Michael Shellenberger, whose investigation was conducted by journalists and researchers David Ágape and Eli Vieira Jr., and edited by Alex Gutentag, sheds light on allegations that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) illegally used social media posts to arrest protesters and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
According to the documents, known as the ‘January 8th Files,’ a secret intelligence task force was formed to identify and detain protesters after the invasion of the Three Powers buildings in Brasília on January 8, 2023 — including those who did not commit violent acts. These files, which were leaked and are now being revealed, are crucial to understanding the alleged government misconduct and the subsequent arrests.
Among the main points revealed by the files are:
• The existence of a secret WhatsApp group, allegedly coordinated by high-ranking authorities, that produced ‘intelligence certificates’ to incriminate suspects. These certificates, used as evidence in the arrests, were supposedly based on the political opinions expressed by the suspects on social media.
• The prolonged detention of protesters while their social media accounts were searched for evidence of political speech.
• The use of speeches and online posts as criminal evidence, instead of concrete actions.
• The denial of access for defense lawyers to probative materials.
• The use of an alleged unsupported biometric database to identify and locate suspects.
The investigation concludes that:
“Moraes, serving Lula’s interests, circumvented the law to effectively criminalize political speech. His excessive judicial repression against the protesters helped legitimize the narrative that January 8 was a coordinated ‘coup attempt’ — a narrative central to the ongoing judicial process against Bolsonaro.”
On the social network X, formerly Twitter, Ágape highlights the absurdity of the arrests and recalls that the criteria for keeping someone in jail included following right-wing pages, criticizing Lula or the Supreme Federal Court, or posting something in support of the protests.
The journalist also states that he is risking everything — his career, his safety, and his freedom — to disclose the documents. This includes possible legal repercussions, personal safety threats, and professional ostracism.
See the full statement below:
“Today, we are publishing the continuation of Vaza Toga. The same revealed by Glenn Greenwald and Fábio Serapião in Folha de S.Paulo — and which, after a few reports, stopped. Yes, you will finally stop asking me what happened to the rest of those 6 gigabytes of files.
These are documents that no one wanted to publish. I offered them to several major newsrooms — all refused. Some praised the work, recognized its importance, but said it was “too dangerous.” Now, I resume my partnership with @EliVieiraJr, Vieira, and the American journalist @shellenberger — the same team behind the Twitter Files Brasil, which exposed the Brazilian Judiciary’s censorship to the world.
This new phase of the investigation shows that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) created a parallel task force within the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to investigate and classify the January 8 detainees. They used confidential systems, hacked internal databases, and scoured social media for likes and posts. And political opinions — all without a court order, without a hearing, and without the right to defense.
The criteria for keeping someone in jail included following right-wing websites, criticizing Lula or the Supreme Federal Court, or posting something in support of the protests. There are absurd cases. People were kept in jail even after the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office recommended their release. People were punished for tweets criticizing the Workers’ Party in 2018, four years before the elections and five years before the January 8 protests.
As everyone knows, the January 8 investigation became a tool to persecute anyone from the right. And this investigation, which took months of silent and meticulous work, proves with documents how it was done. It involved hours of analysis, data cross-referencing, source verification, and interviews with involved parties. It was a risky and challenging endeavor that required courage.
I am risking everything. Absolutely everything. My career, my safety, my freedom. I thought a lot before publishing this material. The safest decision for me would be not to publish. I was advised to stay silent. But, as a journalist, I cannot stay silent. Not in the face of what we discovered. And even less while there are still Brazilians unjustly imprisoned or persecuted because of January 8.
Therefore, I ask that you consider supporting A Investigação. I sincerely thank those who already support us. It is because of you that this is still possible. And I reiterate my request: if you believe in what we are doing, help us continue.
They tried to bury the truth. But the truth has a flaw: it insists on emerging. And now, after months of silence, it returns — with full force.”
Fonte: www.diariodopoder.com.br