The trial of Aécio Lúcio Costa Pereira, the first defendant to be tried for the invasion and depredation of the Três Poderes buildings, in Brasília, on January 8 this year, resumes this Thursday (14) with the vote of minister Cristiano Zanin .
So far, ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Kassio Nunes Marques have presented their votes. First, Moraes presented his report. Then, the reviewing minister, Kassio Nunes Marques, chose not to make any additions. Afterwards, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic Carlos Frederico Santos presented the position of the Federal Public Ministry. Afterwards, the defense of the defendant, Sebastião Coelho da Silva, spoke.
After presenting the prosecution and defense arguments, Moraes voted in favor of sentencing Aécio Lúcio Costa Pereira to a total sentence of 17 years, 15 years and six months in a closed regime and one year and six months in an open regime. The judge also sentenced Aécio to pay a fine of R$44,000.
Moraes cited the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, damage qualified by violence and serious threat, with the use of flammable substances, against the Union’s assets and with considerable damage to the victim, deterioration of listed assets and association armed criminal.
:: Moraes votes to sentence the first coup defendant to 17 years in prison ::
The minister stated that there is no need to describe the conduct of individual criminals, “because the conduct is that of the mob, one inducing the other, co-participants in the crime.” “Everything was vandalized. Several cameras were vandalized. Everything is part of a crime, mob crime. Everyone who participates in a lynching is a murderer, for example. I bring the jurisprudence of the STF, which has long recognized the nature of these multitudinous crimes In this way, the arguments brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office are corroborated by the evidence presented in the case”, said the magistrate.
“It was a very violent act against the Democratic Rule of Law. Why did he film himself and post it on social media? Because they were sure they would pull off a coup. The certainty of impunity meant they ended up incriminating themselves.”
Soon afterwards, minister Kassio Nunes Marques voted to sentence Aécio Pereira to two years and six months of open prison for qualified damage and deterioration of listed property, in addition to paying a fine. The magistrate, however, voted to acquit the defendant on charges of coup d’état, violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law and criminal association.
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“The conduct must at least have the potential to achieve the desired result, even if it does not occur. The acts did not have the scope to abolish the rule of law,” he stated. “The prosecution was unable to gather sufficient evidence in the investigation that the defendant arrested in the National Congress was associated in an organized and stable manner with the specific purpose of committing a series of undetermined crimes,” said Marques.
Now, after the vote of the rapporteur and the reviewer, the other ministers vote in order of seniority: Cristiano Zanin, the most recent minister to enter the Supreme Court, is the first and Gilmar Mendes, who has served the STF the longest, votes second to last. The president of the court, minister Rosa Weber, is the last to vote.
Understand the charges
Aécio Pereira was arrested in the act while still on the Senate premises. Matheus Lázaro invaded Congress and was arrested near Praça do Buriti, located about five kilometers from Praça dos Três Poderes. Thiago Mathar and Moacir dos Santos were detained at Palácio do Planalto. However, in early August, Moacir dos Santos’ arrest was revoked.
The Strategic Group to Combat Anti-Democratic Acts (GCAA), of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), pointed to the crimes and crimes of armed criminal association, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, damage qualified by violence and serious threat and deterioration of listed heritage. If added together, the sentences can reach 30 years in prison.
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In a statement to the Federal Police (PF), Aécio Pereira stated that he did not cause any damage to public property. In a video recorded in the Senate plenary, the defendant sent a message to his colleagues saying: “Friends of Sabesp who didn’t believe it, we are here. Whoever didn’t believe it, I’m here for you too, damn it. Look where I am. On the President’s desk. Vilsão, Roni. We’re fucking here. Marcelão, we’re here, damn it. I will get it right. Do not give up. Take to the streets. Stop the avenues. Support us.”
After Aécio’s trial, the criminal actions relating to defendants Matheus Lima De Carvalho Lazaro, Thiago De Assis Mathar and Moacir Jose Dos Santos, respectively, are judged. In a statement to the Federal Police (PF), Thiago Mathar reported having traveled by bus to Brasília as part of a group of protesters that left Penápolis and passed through Rio Preto. Mathar declared that his intention was to participate in peaceful protests in the federal capital and that he entered the Palácio do Planalto in search of shelter from the conflicts taking place outside.
In the same vein, Matheus Lázaro stated that he entered Congress when it was already occupied by protesters. When the police forces began throwing bombs, he claims to have decided to return to the camp in front of the Army headquarters, going up the Eixo Monumental, but ended up being detained by police agents in the Praça do Buriti area, carrying a pocket knife.
Moacir dos Santos also denied having vandalized public property. In his statement, he stated that he entered the Palace when he noticed that the doors were already unlocked and there were a considerable number of people inside the building.
At the STF, four sessions were reserved to judge the Bolsonarists. The trial will take place individually, that is, each defendant responds to a specific action.
Editing: Vivian Virissimo
