“Serious consequences”, says Moraes when called a palmeirense by the defendant’s lawyer

A moment of relaxation marked the first day of the trial of nucleus 4 of the coup plot at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) this Monday, 14th. Minister Alexandre de Moraes, a recognized Corinthians fan, responded in a joking tone when he was called a Palmeiras fan by lawyer Melillo Dinis do Nascimento.

During his oral argument, Melillo said: “It’s a historic moment where any misinformation can be attributed to anyone. Do you want to see?” and used the minister himself as an example.

“If I say that minister Alexandre de Moraes is a fan of Palmeiras, that is not only unfair, but it ends up having consequences when he goes there to Itaquerão”, said the lawyer in reference to NeoQuímica Arena, Corinthians stadium, in Itaquera.

Moraes reacted in a good-humored way: “And for you too. Serious consequences.” “Of course, very serious,” replied Melillo, who defends the defendant Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, former president of the Voto Legal institute.

The lawyer also used other ministers from the First Panel for more examples of the consequences of disinformation. “If I say that minister Luiz Fux is a krav maga fighter, and not jiu-jitsu; that minister Flávio Dino was governor of North Carolina, and not of Maranhão, where the beloved city of Carolina is located; or that minister Cármen Lúcia doesn’t like Minas Gerais, it could cause problems”, he said.

Melillo Dinis do Nascimento highlighted the context of radicalization that, according to him, contributes to the spread of misinformation. “We are in a fundamentalist, polarized ecosystem, crystallized in a mechanism that has no control. And this lack of control does not depend on whether or not information is produced,” he said.

The defendants Ailton Moraes Barros, former Army major; Ângelo Denicoli, Army reserve major; Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha; Giancarlo Rodrigues, Army warrant officer; Guilherme Almeida, Army lieutenant colonel; Marcelo Bormevet, Federal Police agent; and Reginaldo Abreu, Army colonel.

This Tuesday, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) asked for the conviction of all seven. Attorney General Paulo Gonet argued that they “strategicly managed false information as an instrument of social destabilization”.

The First Panel had scheduled sessions on the 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd of October, but canceled the one on Wednesday, the 15th, and hopes to conclude the trial next Tuesday, the 21st, without the need for the 22nd.