The Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (TJ-SP) ruled in favor of the Brazil in fact in a lawsuit filed by Bolsonarist politician Carlos Eduardo Thomaz Pedroso. He sued the vehicle because of the report “Leader of pro-Bolsonaro neo-Nazi act in 2011 organizes motorcades in support of the president in SP”. Click here to read the full court decision, handed down by Judge Carla Carlini Catuzzo, from the 2nd Court of Marinque, on March 8 of this year.
The text published by Brazil in fact on July 26, 2021 it said that Eduardo Thomaz – who was a candidate for mayor by the PSL in 2020 and has a relationship with General Augusto Heleno, former chief minister of Bolsonaro’s Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI) – acted as spokesman for a demonstration called by neo-Nazi groups in 2011.
That year, in an interview with TV Gazeta granted during the demonstration and recovered by the Brazil in fact, Thomaz stated: “We are supporting Deputy Bolsonaro because he represents the Brazilian family”. The report also mentioned that neo-Nazi groups such as Kombat RAC were present at the act, with clothes and tattoos with references to Nazism.
In the process, Eduardo Thomaz admitted to participating in the act that took place on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, in 2011, portrayed in the main communication vehicles and in the academy as being a manifestation of neo-Nazi nature. He also confirmed that he was part of the UltraDefesa group, which was also identified as an extremist. Eduardo Thomaz claimed, however, that the UltraDefesa group and the demonstration held in 2011 did not have a Nazi nature and that the report published by Brazil in fact “caused him a moral shock, since Nazism is repudiated by the entire community”. Therefore, he asked for R$ 50,000 in compensation for moral damages.
Remember the report: Leader of pro-Bolsonaro neo-Nazi act in 2011 organizes motorcades in support of the president in SP
In its defense, the Brazil in fact stated that the report aimed to inform and bring elements about the past and current political scenario, within the limits of ethics, and that he provided a link to the report from TV Gazeta on the demonstration that took place in the MASP bay in 2011, with the interview of Eduardo Thomaz as spokesman for the referred act.
Represented by attorney Patrick Mariano, the Brazil in fact it also carried out a survey of several articles, dissertations and academic theses that referred to the UltraDefesa group and to the demonstration that took place in 2011 as “neo-Nazi”. Among the materials cited by the defense are works published by the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), the State University of Western Paraná, the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), as well as as website reports UOL e The Intercept Brasil.
In the decision, Judge Carla Carlini Catuzzo dismissed the action filed by Eduardo Thomaz, noting that the report in question falls within the limits of freedom of the press and information, and that the author was unable to sufficiently demonstrate the alleged moral damages. “In spite of what was alleged in the initial statement, the material in vogue reproduces and is supported in an interview given by the applicant himself to the TV Gazeta in 2011. At the time, the defendant was mentioned as an extreme right-wing member of the Ultra Defense group, whose facts were not denied by the plaintiff”, stated Catuzzo.
“Also according to the TV Gazeta reproduced by the defendant, the author was one of the leaders of the demonstration that brought together neo-Nazi groups in the MASP bay in 2011, given that several neo-Nazi groups were present at the act, such as Kombat RAC, whose members are known for their apology for Nazism on social networks” , said the judge.
Catuzzo also condemned Eduardo Thomaz to pay procedural expenses, as well as attorney fees for the accused party, set at 10% of the amount attributed to the case. “It so happens that there are no elements to identify that the facts narrated there are untrue or distancing from the facts that occurred in 2011. In fact, the content of the interview given to TV Gazeta has not been contested. It cannot be denied that this type of manifestation/partisan/ideological movement of the extreme right attracts associations/participants compatible with the ideals of the organizers, with the material published by the defendant not labeling the author a neo-Nazi”, concluded the judge.
“An important case of Brazilian law”
Lawyer Patrick Mariano, victorious in representing the Brazil in fact in the action, said that “the judge’s decision on the Brazil in fact it is important because it reaffirms and guarantees principles dear to Brazilian democracy, notably the right to express and inform”.
“The judge reinforces the noble role of journalism and the journalist. The newspaper did a good job and the journalist did an investigation work within ethical parameters”, he said.
“That’s what we tried to show the Judiciary: that the article was made within the narrow limits of the best investigative and informative journalism. The decision should be celebrated, even if it is subject to appeal. constitutional rights and the noble function of journalism”, concluded the lawyer.
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
