STF forms majority to condemn PMDF leadership for omission on January 8

The First Panel of the Federal Supreme Court already has a majority to hold five officers of the Military Police of the Federal District responsible for omissions that, according to the accusation, allowed the destruction of the buildings in Praça dos Três Poderes on January 8, 2023. The trial takes place in the virtual plenary and remains open until this Friday (5).

The score reached 3-0 this Thursday (4), when minister Cristiano Zanin joined the vote presented by Alexandre de Moraes last week. Flávio Dino also voted for conviction.

The Attorney General’s Office maintains that the defendants knew the risk of invasion, had the means to prevent the crowds from advancing and, yet, failed to act, resulting in losses exceeding R$25 million.

Who should be punished

In the vote that guides the trial, Moraes defended a 16-year sentence for part of the former PMDF leadership and the loss of public positions. They must be condemned:

• Fábio Augusto Vieiracommander general at the time
• Klepter Rosa Gonçalvesdeputy commander general
• Jorge Eduardo Barreto Naimecolonel
• Paulo José Ferreira de Sousa Bezerracolonel
• Marcelo Casimiro Vasconceloscolonel

Moraes also proposed the acquittal of Major Flávio Silvestre de Alencar and Lieutenant Rafael Pereira Martins.

Moraes’ vote

The minister used messages, testimonies and comparisons with security protocols to demonstrate that the PMDF was capable of preventing the attack. For him, there were omissions with a “relevant contribution to the 8th of January”, in addition to “tacit consent and psychological conformity with the risk”.

Moraes stated that “there were not just isolated failures”; the corporation, according to him, had already identified potential threats. Therefore, he requested conviction for the crimes of attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, qualified damage to the Union’s assets and deterioration of listed assets.

When defending harsher penalties, he declared that the “state response cannot be insufficient in terms of reasonableness and proportionality in setting sanctions”.

Next steps

With three votes for conviction, the tendency is for the result to be consolidated by the end of the virtual trial period. Ministers can still present dissenting votes, but the necessary majority has already been reached.