The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil began judging on Tuesday (March 25) whether former president Jair Bolsonaro and seven others accused of attempting a coup will face criminal proceedings.
The Supreme Court will decide whether to accept the charges presented in February by Attorney General Paulo Gonet against the so-called “Crucial Core” or “Core 1”, composed of eight of the 34 indicted in the case. The members of the core are:
• Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil
• Walter Braga Netto, Army general, former minister, and vice-presidential candidate on Bolsonaro’s ticket in the 2022 elections
• General Augusto Heleno, former minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet
• Alexandre Ramagem, former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin)
• Anderson Torres, former minister of Justice and former Secretary of Security of the Federal District
• Almir Garnier, former commander of the Navy
• Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, Army general and former minister of Defense
• Mauro Cid, whistleblower and former aide to Bolsonaro
The plenary has scheduled a session for Wednesday morning (26) to conclude the analysis of the case, following the procedures set forth in the Supreme Court’s internal regulations.
Criminal Organization
The Attorney General’s charges allege that Bolsonaro “led” a criminal organization to carry out acts against the democratic order. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the group, composed of military personnel and other individuals within the state structure, operated between July 2021 and January 2023.
“The criminal organization took all necessary measures to overthrow the legitimately elected government,” states the charges.
The charges mention that Bolsonaro was aware of the plan called “Yellow Green Dagger”, which outlined the strategies and execution of actions aimed at assassinating President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
The Attorney General’s Office also claims that the former president was aware of the draft decree intended to carry out a coup in the country. The document became known during the investigation as the “coup draft”.
Defense denies Bolsonaro knew of coup plot
Attorney Celso Vilardi, defender of former president Jair Bolsonaro, stated on Tuesday (March 25) that his client had no knowledge or connection to any coup plot. Vilardi protested that he had not had access to the full evidence on which the Attorney General based his accusations.
The lawyer began his argument by stating that Bolsonaro is “the most investigated former president in the history of this country”. Nevertheless, he added, the accusations presented by Attorney General Paulo Gonet do not provide any evidence linking Bolsonaro to the coup plot or to the attacks of January 8, 2023, when the headquarters of the Three Powers were invaded and vandalized by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
“The [former] president,” he said, “has nothing to do with the Green and Yellow Dagger plan,” referring to the scheme that, according to the Federal Police, involved seizing power and assassinating then-elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other authorities — such as Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes — after the 2022 election.
He also mentioned that Bolsonaro authorized the start of the government transition, as well as an early change in the command of the Armed Forces, in December 2022, after losing the election that year. “One cannot say that this is compatible with an attempted coup,” argued the lawyer.
“I fear the gravity of all the events that occurred on January 8, but one cannot seek to attribute any responsibility to the former president, or label him as the leader of a criminal organization, if he did not support what happened on January 8 — on the contrary, he ridiculed it,” declared Vilardi. He referred to messages posted that day, in which Bolsonaro condemned the attacks.
In Vilardi’s view, the accusations boil down to “conjectures” that do not present any specific action by Bolsonaro aimed at carrying out a coup.
Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro himself watched Vilardi’s argument directly from the First Panel’s session room. The former president left the venue on Tuesday morning stating that he would not speak until the end of the trial.
Source: Agência Brasil