By authorizing the arrest of federal deputy Chiquinho Brazão (União Brasil); Domingos Brazão, advisor to the Rio de Janeiro State Court of Auditors; and Rivaldo Barbosa de Araújo Júnior, delegate of the Civil Police, this Sunday morning (24/3), Minister Alexandre de Moraes justified that the trio took advantage of the state apparatus to hinder the investigations and not elucidate the murder of Marielle Franco, and of driver Anderson Gomes, in addition to the attempted murder of advisor Fernanda Chaves. Read the full Moraes decision and the PGR statement.
Furthermore, Moraes cited excerpts from the Federal Police report which says that the evidence authored by the Brazão brothers is “eloquent” and that they contracted two services: execution and the prior guarantee of impunity within the Civil Police through Rivaldo Barbosa.
Moraes’ decision will be placed in a virtual plenary session for the referendum of the other ministers of the 1st Panel from midnight on March 25th. The 1st Class comprises, in addition to Moraes, Cármen Lúcia, Luiz Fux, Cristiano Zanin and Flávio Dino.
In the decision, Moraes highlights excerpts from the Federal Police report that present evidence of the connection of the Brazão brothers, especially Domingos, with criminal activities related to militias and land “grabbing”. Police authorities also point out the animosity of the “Brazão Brothers” towards PSol politicians due to land regularization and defense of the right to housing in Rio de Janeiro. Read the full report.
Also according to the PF report, the scenario of conflict between the Brazão and PSol politicians, such as Marielle Franco, increased in the second half of 2017, precisely during the period in which the whistleblower, Ronnie Lessa, appointed as the perpetrator of the crime, says that he planning for the councilor’s execution began. At the time, Chiquinho Brazão reportedly had an “uncontrolled” reaction to Marielle’s performance in the tight vote on PLC 174/2016, which dealt with land issues in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
In another excerpt highlighted by the minister, the Federal Police states that the Brazão brothers infiltrated a person in the PSol (Laerte Silva de Lima) to carry out an internal collection of information.
Among the information collected was that Marielle asked the population not to join new subdivisions located in militia areas.
From this “survey” the crime proposal was presented. At the time, Rivaldo, who was director of the homicide division of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, instructed those in charge that the execution could not originate from the City Council.
Obstruction of investigations
According to Moraes, there is, in the case file, strong evidence and evidence of materiality and authorship of the Brazão brothers’ crimes and Rivaldo Barbosa’s actions to hinder the investigations. Therefore, in the minister’s view, prisons are necessary to maintain public order, the convenience of criminal investigation and the true application of criminal law.
In the decision, the minister highlights an excerpt from the Federal Police report that says: “to this day it is possible to assess the movement of DOMINGOS, CHIQUINHO and RIVALDO in order to create obstacles to the regular processing of the elucidation of the facts surrounding Marielle’s homicide and Anderson.”
In the Federal Police document that supported Moraes’ decision, police authorities say that “there are no doubts” about the need to decree the trio’s arrest. “After all, for six years the group has been trying to obstruct investigations based on a web of shady interactions and existing relationships” with state bodies that are supposed to combat crimes of this nature.
“In this context of absurdities and excrescences, it is absolutely deplorable that we are faced with a scenario of pre-paid crime in Rio de Janeiro, where intellectual authors come forward with the judicial police on the best way to commit a homicide, so that no there is any reprisal during its future investigation”, says one of the excerpts of the report.
The PF report also concludes that “All these elements reveal the existence of a true parallel state, led by the political camps of Rio de Janeiro and holding the final say on who should die or live in Guanabara”.
And he adds: “Worse. Initially, this pernicious policy in relation to crimes against life was restricted to the side effects of several parallel conflicts occurring in Rio de Janeiro, such as wars between drug trafficking factions, clashes between paramilitary militias, disputes over territories in the infamous Jogo do Bicho. and slot machines, etc.; However, the present case reveals that the regular disagreements of the political game have spilled over the board of democracy and ended up in this same ditch of blood and corruption”.
The three prisoners will be held in the Federal Penitentiary, in Brasília. According to the STF’s press office, they underwent a custody hearing conducted by the instructing magistrate from the minister’s office, judge Airton Vieira, this morning, at the Federal Police Superintendence in Rio. Afterwards, they were transferred to the Federal District.
Moraes also ordered that the president of the Chamber of Deputies, deputy Arthur Lira, be informed of the arrest of parliamentarian Chiquinho Brazão.
Others involved
In addition to the three preventive arrests, other measures were taken for the trio and others involved – Civil Police Chief Giniton Lages; the Civil Police Commissioner, Marco Antônio de Barros Pinto; lawyer Érika Andrade de Almeida Araújo; and Domingos Brazão’s advisor, Robson Calixto Fonseca.
According to the PF, Robson Calixto appears as a militia member and is considered responsible for collecting amounts earned by an organized militia-type paramilitary group in the Taquara region, in Rio de Janeiro. Érika Andrade is the wife of police chief Rivaldo – she has companies used for crimes such as money laundering and corruption. Giniton Lages and Marco Antônio Pinto would have contributed to obstructing the investigation into the murders of Marielle and Anderson.
Measures include: home and personal search and seizure; blocking of assets; removal from public duties, use of an electronic ankle bracelet, nighttime home confinement, delivery of passport, suspension of weapons possession, and presentation before the execution court in RJ.
Justice ministry
In a press conference this Sunday afternoon, the director general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, stated that the corporation concluded that the Brazão brothers were the masterminds of the crime, but did not rule out new discoveries after analyzing the material seized this Sunday.
“At this moment, the PF closes this phase of the investigation, pointing out not only the principals, but also pointing out executors and intermediaries who, in some way, have some relationship with the crime. This does not nullify or invalidate the possibility of other actions being taken, including from this stage of seizures and analysis of material that will be carried out and forwarded to the public judiciary.”
The Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, stated that the Federal Police entered the crime investigation in February 2023 after identifying the obstacles to the elucidation of the case within the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police and took advantage of the press conference to reinforce the department’s priority with the combating organized crime.
“This shows that organized crime will not be successful here in our country because we have a strong, effective police force” and the security forces are alert and attentive and are sufficiently prepared to confront organized crime,” he said.
Lewandowski stated that the arrest of those responsible for the crime against Marielle and Anderson is a “Triumph of the Brazilian state”.
Moraes rapporteur
Minister Alexandre de Moraes is the rapporteur of inquiry 4954 by lot at the Federal Supreme Court. The draw took place only among ministers of the 1st Panel because there was a prevention in the case, that is, Minister Rosa Weber was already taking care of the matter due to a habeas corpus filed by Ronnie Lessa’s defense in the Supreme Court. However, as she retired, there was a redistribution among the five ministers that make up the group and it ended up being assigned to Alexandre de Moraes.
Repercussions on Marielle’s family
In a note sent to the press, signed by the family members of Marielle, Marinete, Anielle, Antônio and Luyara, the family said that the arrests are an “important step in the search for justice”. Check it out in full:
“This Palm Sunday (24), the day to celebrate our faith, the fight for justice, and in the liturgy the Sunday before Easter about new beginnings and resurrection, we woke up to the news of the joint operation of the Attorney General’s Office, Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal Police.
Today is a historic day for Brazilian democracy and an important step in the search for justice in the case of Marielle and Anderson. It’s been more than 6 years waiting for answers about who ordered Marielle to be killed and why?
Marielle was a parliamentarian elected with more than 46 thousand votes in the City of Rio de Janeiro and her work was focused on guaranteeing rights for the population of Rio de Janeiro and improving living conditions throughout the city, with attention to those who commonly have their fundamental rights violated: residents of favelas and peripheries, black people, women, informal workers. Her fight was for social justice, guaranteeing basic rights for the population. And it is for this reason that her fight does not end with her barbaric murder and that of her driver, Anderson.
The resolution of the case is central to us, but not only. Today, we talk about the importance of this response for all of Brazil, for Marielle’s voters, for human rights defenders and for the most vulnerable population in this country.
It is important not to lose sight of the fact that so far no one has been effectively held responsible for this crime, among those appointed as executors and principals. All arrests are preventive and there is still a lot to be investigated and clarified, especially regarding the explanation of the motivations for a crime as cruel as this. But, the coordinated efforts of the authorities are a spark of hope for us families.
We recognize the commitment of the Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Police, the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro and Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the STF to advance answers on the case, now we await the result of the investigation and the possible complaint of the principals and all those responsible for obstructions of justice.
On this day of pain and hope, our family continues to fight for justice. Nothing will bring our Mari back, but we are one step closer to the answers we so long for.”
Understand the investigation that finds out who killed Marielle Franco
The case has been investigated for six years, but has faced obstacles in identifying the masterminds. Marielle and Anderson were murdered on March 14, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro, when the councilor was leaving a public event.
The suspicion is that it was a political crime, with militia involvement. One of the reasons for this understanding is the fact that the councilor’s activities were marked by the fight against militias.
Before being elected, she had worked with former state deputy Marcelo Freixo, when he commanded the CPI das Milícias in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, when he led the CPI, Freixo suffered a series of threats. The commission was responsible for unraveling the functioning of and complaints against the militias.
The councilor had been the 5th most voted in the elections in Rio in 2016. In addition to being known for assisting victims of the militia and for providing support to police officers victimized by violence in Rio and their families, she denounced abuses by the Military Police.
Flavia Maia – Reporter in Brasília. Covers the Judiciary, especially the Federal Supreme Court (STF). She was a reporter for the newspaper Correio Braziliense and communications advisor for the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). She has a law degree from IDP. Email: [email protected]
Tags: Moraes reasons decreeing arrest suspects Marielles murder
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