The Supreme Court is debating whether to accept charges against seven high-ranking Brasília police officers for facilitating the January 8 riots in 2023, when thousands of far-right radicals stormed and ransacked the buildings of the three branches of government in Brazil’s capital.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing investigations into the riots, cast the first vote — in favor of the officers being tried for their alleged responsibility in the failed insurrection. The officers are currently in jail; Justice Moraes upheld their arrest.
On January 8, 2023, Bolsonaro supporters marched toward a police barricade outside the Three Powers Square in Brasília, where Lula had his presidential inauguration just a week earlier. Many soon forced their way onto the ramp leading to the lobby of the Congress building.
Local authorities had planned to deal with the protests with a relatively small and minimally visible presence. They did nothing as the angry mob marched 6.5 kilometers from their meeting point to their destination.
As rioters broke through barricades, a handful of police officers responded with tear gas but were overwhelmed by the mob. Others simply watched as the incident descended into chaos. Some even took selfies as public buildings were vandalized.
In his vote, Justice Moraes rejected the defendants’ claim that there was an “intelligence blackout” on the eve of the riots, saying there was “significant evidence” that the police had in fact “carried out its intelligence activities correctly, monitoring the risks of an attack over the weekend on January 7 and 8.” The justice added that the evidence showed that the defendants “were aware of the factual circumstances” of the risks of a riot.
One of the defendants is police colonel Fábio Augusto Vieira, who was the commander of the Brasília police on the day of the riots. The Federal Prosecution Office charged him with omission, violent attack on the rule of law, attempted coup d’etat, and crimes related to damage to public property.
Last year, at a hearing in the local Brasília legislature, Mr. Vieira blamed the public security department for a lack of planning ahead of the riots. Later, after the investigation documents were made public, he decided to remain silent before the joint congressional committee investigating the same unrest.
The investigation showed that the police officers shared pro-coup posts on messaging apps and questioned the fairness of the electoral process.
If a majority of justices in the panel uphold his vote, the defendants will be judged by the Supreme Court.
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