Former military chief admits Bolsonaro approached him to stage a coup d'tat

Saturday, March 16th 2024 - 10:00 UTC

According to Freire's testimony, Bolsonaro met on Dec. 7, 2022, and on two other occasions with the military leadership at the Alvorada Palace to seek different legal mechanisms to stay in power after the handover scheduled for Jan. 1, 2023.

On Jan. 8, 2023, scores of Bolsonaristas rampaged through the iconic buildings of the Planalto Palace, the Congress, and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in Brasilia in a move to encourage the military to overthrow Lula.

According to Brazilian media citing Freire Gomes' testimony leaked to the press, Bolsonaro planned to seize the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to “clarify the conformity and legality of the electoral process,” in addition to imposing a state of siege through a decree similar to the draft found in January 2023 in the house of Bolsonaro's former Justice Minister Anderson Torres.

Freire also stated that he and the former Air Force Chief Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior opposed “in a forceful way” the content exposed by Bolsonaro and assured that “there was no legal support to take any attitude.” The Air Force Chief even warned Bolsonaro that he would arrest him in case he tried to carry out his coup plans. On the other hand, Navy Chief Admiral Garnier Santos did support the uprising.

In light of this testimony, Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes lifted the seal of secrecy from the statements of those investigated by the Federal Prosecutor's Office, including Bolsonaro and the military top brass. This week the STF sentenced another 15 people to prison terms of between 14 and 17 years for the Jan. 8 events, bringing the total number of those sentenced to 131, despite the defense's arguments that their clients intended to participate in a peaceful demonstration and were never in a position to carry out a coup d'état.

More:
https://en.mercopress.com/2024/03/16/former-military-chief-admits-bolsonaro-approached-him-to-stage-a-coup-d-etat