Interrogations of the “crucial core”: see what each said and what happens now

Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) revoked on Tuesday (10) the prohibition of contact between the defendants of the criminal action that investigates the attempted coup after the 2022 elections. The decision was taken shortly after the completion of the “crucial” core interrogations of the alleged criminal organization.

“I revoke the precautionary measure that imposed on January 26, 2024, which prohibited defendants from maintaining contact with each other,” Moraes wrote in the decision.

The hearing phase, which began with the testimony of whistleblower Mauro Cid, was closed with the testimony of General Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of the Civil House and Defense. In all, eight members of the alleged coup joint group were questioned.

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Here are the summary of the main testimonials:

Jair Bolsonaro (former President of the Republic)
He denied participation in any institutional rupture plan and justified his criticism of the electoral system as part of his “political rhetoric.” He even apologized to the Supreme Court and starred in moments of relaxation with Minister Moraes, in contrast to the tone adopted by the other defendants.

Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (former Minister of Defense)
He reinforced a moderate speech, stating that he did not participate in any articulation for a blow. He admitted that his criticism of the polls were excessive and reiterated his apology.

Mauro Cid (former Assistant of Orders and whistleblower)
It was the most incisive. He confirmed the existence of a coup plan and stated that Bolsonaro received, read and changed the so -called “scam draft.” He stated that the former president suppressed excerpts that mentioned the arrest of authorities, leaving only the name of Moraes.

He also pointed out that Braga Netto would have acted as a link between Bolsonaro and the camps in front of the barracks, and passed on to a military resources delivered in kind to the Alvorada Palace.

Alexandre Ramagem (Federal Deputy and former director of Abin)
He denied having instrumentalized ABIN to monitor Supreme Ministers and stated that the documents found were only “personal reflections”, not sent to Bolsonaro. He also stated that the material used in the former president’s lives was not produced by the agency.

Almir Garnier (former Navy Commander)
He denied having made the Navy troops available to Bolsonaro and stated that he was unaware of the scammer draft. He confirmed meetings at the Dawn Palace on December 7 and 14, 2022, but said no practical deliberation was taken.

Augusto Heleno (former GSI minister)
He used the right to remain silent and answered only to the questions of his own defense. He denied knowledge about the existence of a possible parallel cabinet in case of institutional rupture, although his name was named as a possible leader of this alleged government.

Anderson Torres (former Minister of Justice)
He said he traveled to the US on January 8, 2023, fulfilling all current security protocols. He classified as “Google draft” the coup document found at his residence and denied authorship or intention to use it.

Walter Braga Netto (former Minister of the Civil House)
He confirmed meetings with Bolsonaro, but denied any plan involvement to reverse the electoral result. Appointed by Cid as an interlocutor with the camps, the general avoided commenting on the transfer of resources mentioned by the whistleblower.

With the conclusion of the testimonials, Moraes should now forward the process to the next phases: Diligence, presentation of the final allegations and, later, the vote of the rapporteur – which may lead the case to trial in this second semester.