Coronel says he was waiting for a reassuring message from Bolsonaro – 06/27/2023 – Politics

Colonel Jean Lawand Júnior said this Tuesday (27) in a statement to the CPI on January 8 that he wanted a “calming” message from former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and not a coup d’état against Lula’s victory ( PT).

In messages seized by the Federal Police, Lawand Júnior asked Bolsonaro’s main assistant, Colonel Mauro Cid, to convince the then president to give an “order” to the Army. To the CPI, the colonel said that he was talking to Cid just to “understand what was going on”.

“My idea from the beginning was that some demonstration would come to be able to appease that, people to return to their homes and carry on with normal life”, he said. “Former President Bolsonaro had a leadership over the population, at least over his electorate.”

The rapporteur, senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), countered: “You cannot childish this commission. Here, as they say in my Maranhão, the stupidest managed to be elected federal deputy, senator and senator. put here are totally incompatible with the content of the message that you yourself wrote”.

Lawand Júnior had been assigned to Brazil’s diplomatic representation in the United States, but the Army Command decided to annul the appointment after the appearance of the PF report on the content of Mauro Cid’s cell phone.

The colonel was one of 12 members of a WhatsApp group with active duty military. The group is titled “Dosssss!!!” and has, as a profile image, a drawing of two dolls, one kicking the other, with the phrase in English “careful: this is Sparta” —a reference to the movie “The 300 of Sparta”.

The messages cited by the PF are from the period between November 27, 2022 and January 4, 2023. In one of them, the colonel asks “for the love of God” for Bolsonaro to give the order for the coup.

“Cid, for God’s sake, man. He [Bolsonaro] give the order that the people are with him, man. If the guys don’t comply, that’s their problem. The Brazilian Army ends if these guys don’t comply with the order of the Supreme Commander. How am I going to accept an order from a General, who did not receive, who did not accept the Commander’s order. For God’s sake, Citizen. For God’s sake, do something, man. Convince him to do it,” Lawand said in one of the audios, according to the PF transcript.

In one of the conversations, Colonel Lawand forwards a message from a friend who claims to have met with General Edson Skora Rosty.

Deputy commander of Army Land Operations at the time of the messages, Rosty would have assured the interlocutor that the Land Force would comply with any intervention order if received. Still according to this report, the general would have considered that the Army would do nothing without an order from Bolsonaro.

“I assure you that at no time did I speak about a coup. At no time did I attack Brazilian democracy. At no time did I want to break, dismiss, attack any of the institutions,” he told the CPI this Tuesday at the beginning of the session.

The colonel appealed to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) not to testify. Minister Cármen Lúcia understood that he should attend the session, but could remain silent so as not to produce evidence against himself.

Collaborated with Fábio Serapião, from Brasilia