Will Bolsonaro be brought to justice for his role in the January 8 coup attempt?

From Brasil de Fato

Last week, former President Jair Bolsonaro and his key allies, both civilian and military, were targeted in an operation of the Federal Police (PF). They are accused of being involved in an attempted coup aimed at invalidating the 2022 elections, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emerged victorious.

The PF carried out 33 search and seizure warrants and four preventative arrest warrants. In addition, precautionary measures were applied, such as restrictions on contact with other individuals under investigation, surrender of passports, and removal from public office posts. The Minister of Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes authorized these warrants.

Who was targeted?

The former special advisor to Bolsonaro, Filipe Martins, was arrested. Valdemar Costa Neto, president of the Liberal Party (the party for which Bolsonaro ran for reelection in 2022); Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, a former commander-in-chief of the Navy; General Stevan Teófilo Gaspar de Oliveira, former chief of the Army’s Land Operations Command; Tércio Arnaud Thomaz, former advisor to Bolsonaro and seen as one of the pillars of the so-called “hate cabinet,” were also targeted by search and seizure warrants. The term refers to a group of advisors who worked at the Planalto Palace, coordinated by former President Bolsonaro and his second eldest son, Carlos Bolsonaro. This group played a crucial role in managing the former president’s social media accounts and emerged during the campaign for the 2018 presidential elections. Its activities continued until the end of Bolsonaro’s term as president.

The virtual militia

The existence of a “virtual militia” was made public in mid-2019 when the then federal deputy Joice Hasselmann, a former ally of Bolsonaro, talked publicly about the group and its intentions. The “hate cabinet” operated through fake profiles on social media and aimed to spread fake news to attack Bolsonaro’s political opponents. The strategy involved amplifying repercussions of the news, creating an environment of polarization and disinformation. In sum, the “hate cabinet” played a significant role on social media during the Bolsonaro government, generating debates about ethics, democracy, and the use of the internet as a political tool.

The Federal Police called this operation “Tempus Veritatis,” which means “hour of truth” in Latin. This operation represents a crucial moment in Brazilian politics, with significant implications for democracy and the rule of law.

According to the Federal Police, the group under investigation was divided into nuclei to disseminate misinformation during the 2022 presidential elections. The goal was to enable and legitimize a military intervention, acting as a digital militia, which culminated in the invasion of the National Congress on January 8, 2023.

January 8

The attacks on January 8, 2023 saw thousands of extremist supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro destroy public property and wreak havoc in the nation’s capital. This crowd invaded federal government buildings with the aim of instigating a military coup against the elected government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in an attempt to reinstate Bolsonaro as president of Brazil.

Around 4,000 Bolsonaro supporters marched towards Plaza of Three Powers, clashing with the Military Police of the Federal District on the Ministries Esplanade. The crowd broke the security barrier and occupied the ramp and roof of the National Congress Palace, while part of the group managed to invade and vandalize the Planalto Palace and the Palace of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court classified the events as acts of terrorism. Around 400 people were arrested on the day of the attacks, and another 1,200 were detained in the protesters’ camp in front of the Army Headquarters the day after the attacks. As of March 2023, 2,182 people had been arrested for participating or being involved in the attacks.

Government representatives criticized what had happened and declared that those responsible for the violent acts, their financiers and instigators would be identified and punished. Leaders of several Brazilian parties and government officials from several countries also repudiated the invasion and considered it a serious attack on democracy. The event is compared to the invasion of the United States Capitol in January 2021 by Donald Trump supporters who refused to accept his defeat in the elections.

This piece was first published at Brasil de Fato