Carrying out the mass identification of the invaders, the financing and the possible connivance of the authorities will be priorities for the federal authorities in the days following the vandalism acts in Brasilia.
In the aftermath of the invasion of the Planalto Palace, the National Congress and the Federal Court (STF), the federal authorities charged with punishing those responsible for the violence committed on Sunday (1/8) focused on three main objectives: mass identification of invaders, mapping the financing network of these groups and investigating possible connivance of public agents.
On Sunday afternoon, thousands of militant supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) dissatisfied with the election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and defending programs such as the closure of the National Congress stormed the headquarters of the three powers of the Republic. They arrived in Brasilia in recent days and occupied the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in the central area of the city, throughout the day.
Although military police were present in the area near the headquarters of the three branches of government, the Prime Minister of the Federal District was unable to prevent the invasion.
Order was only restored to the region after reinforcements arrived. Following the invasion, President Lula announced federal intervention in public security in the Federal District at the end of the afternoon. The executive secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Ricardo Capelli, was appointed to intervene and will lead the security apparatus of the Federal District until the end of January.
The images released by the Secretariat for Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) showed the damage caused by the invaders. Computers, monitors, furniture and even works of art that adorned Palazzo Planalto were vandalised.
In the following hours, the priorities of the authorities appointed to punish those responsible began to emerge.
Mass identification of attackers
A major focus of the investigation to date is the mass identification of those responsible for the invasions. There is no official data on the number of people who attended Sunday’s proceedings, but the images broadcast by television networks show at least a few thousand people in the vicinity of the Congress, the STF and the Palácio do Planalto.
According to Justice Minister Flávio Dino, at least 200 people have already been arrested in flagrante delicto. Dino recalled that these people will be responsible for the crimes of coup d’état, damage to historical property and bodily harm (due to attacks on security agents and journalists). According to him, the penalties can go up to 20 years in prison.
The minister said that further arrests should be made in the next few hours.
“People who participated in these events, wherever they are, will be arrested,” the minister said at a news conference.
“We will have some more acts related to this investigation with new requests for pre-trial detention,” Dino said during the interview.
BBC News Brasil has also learned that the federal police will use facial recognition tools to identify militants who have been actively involved in the invasion of buildings and the looting of public property.
These tools will cross-reference images captured by CCTV, security cameras and material posted on social networks with databases already available to security establishments, such as biometric data from state public safety departments.
PFs will also try to identify intruders through fingerprints left on invaded buildings.
funding network
Another priority reported by the authorities is the identification of the funding network that would have made it possible to transport thousands of people to Brasilia and detain them in the federal capital.
In a press conference, Flávio Dino said that the Federal Police and the Civil Police are already putting together the funding map for Sunday’s proceedings.
“Whoever finances crime is a criminal. We have already collected all the buses, where they came from, who paid. We have the passenger list and we will ask the judicial police, both the PF and the Civil Police, for the appropriate measures” said Flávio Dino.
“This has never happened in Brazilian life like this and it will never happen again. And this is how we will avoid it: reach out to lenders,” said Flávio Dino.
The search for financiers of anti-democratic acts was already one of the main aspects of the investigation being prepared by the STF on the subject.
It is not yet clear whether the invasions carried out on Sunday will be investigated in the context of this inquiry, which is currently being examined by Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
In November last year, according to the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo, reports sent to the STF showed the existence of a network of financiers of anti-democratic acts made up of entrepreneurs and rural producers.
An investigation into Sunday’s proceedings is expected to determine those responsible for the rental of dozens of buses that carried Bolsonarista militants to Brasilia.
Connivance and omission
The third focus of the federal authorities is on the connivance of public agents with the invasion of the offices of the three branches of government.
Suspicions arose throughout Sunday that agents of the Federal District’s public safety apparatus would allow the invaders to act.
Suspicions have intensified after a change in the security planning of the Esplanada dos Ministérios, the area that gives access to the overgrown buildings. Pedestrian access to the site was initially prohibited, but this access was allowed throughout the day, facilitating the arrival of the invaders at Praça dos Três Poderes.
In a petition sent to the STF, the Attorney General of the Union (AGU) even called for the arrest of the now former Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District, former Minister of Justice during the Bolsonaro government, Anderson Torres, and all public officials responsible for the “alleged omissions” leading up to the invasion.
“Among the requests is the arrest in flagrante delicto of former Federal District Public Safety Secretary, Anderson Torres, who was cleared this afternoon, and other public officials responsible for acts and omissions,” a statement reads. released by the AGU.
Torres was sacked as Public Safety Secretary by the Governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), after the headquarters of the three branches of government were invaded. The governor himself was removed from office for 90 days by the STF. MEP Celina Leão (PP) took office on an interim basis.
During his tenure at the Ministry of Justice, Torres strongly identified with Bolsonaro and was even appointed responsible for the operation of the Federal Traffic Police (PRF) which stopped several buses carrying voters in the Northeast region on the day of the second round of the presidential elections.
In a press conference, Flávio Dino avoided mentioning Anderson Torres directly and accusing Ibaneis Rocha of collusion with the invasions, but said those responsible for Sunday’s security operation must be identified.
“I don’t see until now that Governor Ibaneis deliberately omitted himself. It is more likely that others passed wrong information to Governor Ibaneis and this led to bad decisions […] The investigation will show whether human errors or criminal omissions were relationships that led the governor to make decisions that turned out to be wrong.”
“We see an omission by the Federal District’s public safety apparatus and the legal response was federal intervention that was worked out,” he added.
As in the case of the identification of the network of lenders of the acts on Sunday, it is not clear whether the investigation into the responsibilities and possible omissions of public agents that led to the invasion will belong to the investigation into the anti-democratic acts which is already in the process of processing by the STF or if it will be the subject of another investigation by the Federal Police or the Federal Public Prosecutor (MPF).
BBC News Brasil searched for Anderson Torres via phone and messaging apps, but he hasn’t responded to contacts.
On his Twitter profile, Torres rejected the invasions.
“Disorder is inconceivable and lack of respect for the institutions is unacceptable. I have established that all PM and Civil Police personnel act firmly so that order is restored as a matter of urgency. Vandalism and looting will be fought with the rigors of of the law,” he said. hours before the announcement of his resignation.
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Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
