"The coup was already underway," says Paulo Gonet.

247 - The Supreme Federal Court (STF) began this Tuesday (2) the trial of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and members of the so-called "crucial core" of the attempted coup d'état. The process is being analyzed by the First Panel of the Court, composed of ministers Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia, Alexandre de Moraes, Luiz Fux and Flávio Dino.

In his oral argument, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, highlighted the seriousness of the actions that preceded the attacks on democracy and pointed to Bolsonaro's direct participation in orchestrating the coup. "When the President of the Republic and later the Minister of Defense summon the military leadership to present a document formalizing a coup d'état, the criminal process is already underway. This is not a relatively harmless environment, a conversation between those who lack the means to operate," he stated.

Meetings and military coordination

Gonet reported that Bolsonaro, then President of the Republic, gathered the highest commanders of the Armed Forces to explain his plans. Following this, the Minister of Defense, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, allegedly summoned the military chiefs to detail the strategy to be adopted.

According to the Attorney General, the meeting made it clear that it was not a simple political conversation, but a concrete move to consummate the democratic rupture. "When the president and the Minister of Defense meet with the military commanders, under their political and hierarchical position, to urge them to execute the final stages of the coup, the coup is already in its initial stages," he emphasized.

Gonet also cited the actions of Walter Braga Netto, a military officer and then vice-presidential candidate on Bolsonaro's ticket, who allegedly encouraged actions to weaken the legal resistance of sectors of the Armed Forces, especially the Air Force and the Army, opposed to the uprising.

Defense of the democratic order.

The Attorney General stressed that the coup attempts must be treated with the utmost seriousness. "The acts that make up the appalling and grim picture presented in the indictment are phenomena of attack with criminal relevance against democratic institutions. They cannot be treated as acts of minor importance, as utopian daydreams, as reckless adventures, nor as hasty actions to be reduced, as the days go by, to a lighthearted matter of national curiosity," he declared.

According to Gonet, the evidence presented in the case shows a chain of events orchestrated to bring about the democratic breakdown, ranging from disinformation campaigns about electronic voting machines to the mobilization of the military leadership.

Defendants and possible sentences

Besides Bolsonaro, the defendants include Alexandre Ramagem (former director-general of ABIN), Almir Garnier Santos (former commander of the Navy), Anderson Torres (former Minister of Justice), Augusto Heleno (former Minister of the GSI), Mauro Cid (informant and former aide to Bolsonaro), Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (former Minister of Defense), and Walter Braga Netto (former Minister of the Civil House).

They are charged with the crimes of armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d'état, aggravated damage to federal property, and deterioration of listed heritage sites. If convicted and given the maximum sentence, they could face up to 43 years in prison.

The exception is Alexandre Ramagem, who had part of his criminal proceedings suspended by the Chamber of Deputies, remaining a defendant in three of the five original crimes. The trial is expected to last until September 12 and is considered a historic milestone in holding accountable those who have undermined democracy in Brazil.

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