Bolsonaro’s investigation requests go to the 1st instance – 02/10/2023 – Power

Minister Cármen Lúcia, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), determined this Friday (10) the sending of at least six requests for investigation against former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to the first instance of the Judiciary, under the argument loss of special jurisdiction.

The requests were submitted to the Supreme Court by parliamentarians such as Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP) and Deputy Sâmia Bomfim (PSOL-SP) and by entities such as the AJD (Association of Judges for Democracy).

In the decisions, Cármen states that “considering the supervening loss of the forum due to the prerogative of function” of Bolsonaro and “the competence of this Federal Supreme Court ceased”, the records must be forwarded to the Federal Justice of the Federal District.

“It was then established in this Supreme Court guidance in the sense that, no longer occupying the position that would define the forum by prerogative of function, the competence of this Supreme Court ceases”, said the minister in her decisions.

According to her, the end of the mandate ends with the attribution of the Supreme Court to prosecute “any deed related to possible criminal practices imputed to him and committed in the exercise of the position and because of it since 1.1.2023”.

These are the first requests for an investigation against Bolsonaro that the Supreme Court sends to the first instance. Most requests deal with speeches made by the then president before and during the celebrations of September 7, 2021.

At the time, Bolsonaro made coup threats against the Supreme Court, urged disobedience to court decisions and said that he would only leave the Presidency of the Republic dead.

“On September 7, crowning weeks of criticism of the Federal Supreme Court and the constituted Powers, the President of the Republic delivered a speech to his supporters [cujas declarações] amplify and reverberate the anti-democratic and coup-mongering rhetoric of the morning speech in Brasília, in which Bolsonaro had already said that he would no longer accept the decisions of the Judiciary and, if the ‘head’ of the Supreme Court does not ‘fit’ his ministers, ‘he may suffer that that we don’t want’, in a very clear threat of a coup that puts an end to Brazilian democracy”, reads the AJD request.

There is also a request for an investigation by Bolsonaro on suspicion of racism when he said that a supporter weighed “more than seven arrobas” at the door of the Palácio da Alvorada. This request was made by PSOL deputies.

At the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro is the target of five inquiries reported by Minister Alexandre de Moraes.