doubts about 8/1

One year after the January 8th attacks, there are ongoing investigations at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) investigating the participation of Bolsonaro supporters in the demonstrations, the financing of the groups that demonstrated and even the intellectual authorship of the attacks. Other dubious elements of 8/1, however, do not receive the same attention from the Judiciary.

The hypothesis of the presence of infiltrators among the protesters, for example, was never taken into consideration by the courts, even though there are enough videos and testimonies to make it plausible.

The erratic and suspicious behavior of Flávio Dino, then Minister of Justice and Public Security, in relation to the controversy surrounding his ministry’s security cameras also did not receive attention from the courts. Furthermore, the Senate, which was investigating him in the CPMI on January 8, ended up approving his name as a member of the Supreme Court, with little resistance even from those who are among the opposition parliamentarians.

The Lula government’s omission in relation to the attacks, even in the face of warnings issued by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), is another issue neglected by the Judiciary, which, for similar reasons, removed Ibaneis Rocha from the government of the Federal District. He was reappointed to the position two months later.

Remember the doubts about 8/1 that are still neglected.

The thesis of the presence of infiltrators in 8/1

The presence of infiltrators in the demonstrations is one of the doubts to be resolved about January 8th.

In videos published on social media on January 8 last year, some of the protesters present said they were trying to prevent infiltrators from vandalizing public property.

In the images released, people with hoods and bandanas covering their faces come into conflict with protesters, as in the case of a man wearing a hood and carrying a stick in his hand. One of the hooded men was surrounded by protesters and detained by the police.

Furthermore, suspicions arose – initially raised by Revista Oeste – that members of left-wing parties would be at the demonstrations. There are cases, however, of people who were linked to these parties, but had stopped serving for them and now supported the demonstrations.

Last year, security camera footage from Palácio do Planalto showed Reuters photographer Adriano Machado chatting amiably with protesters while taking their photos. The hypothesis that Machado had combined the photos with some of those present at the scene was raised, but the theory cooled down after the photographer’s statement to CPMI on January 8th. He explained that he spoke with protesters because some of them did not want his presence there, while others wanted to show good disposition towards him.

Dino’s behavior regarding access to images from his ministry’s cameras

The dubious behavior of the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino, in relation to the images from the security cameras of the building where his office is located on the Esplanada dos Ministérios is another element of 8/1 that still requires clarification.

For almost two months, the minister resorted to evasions to deny the various requests made by the CPMI on January 8 for access to the images from the security cameras that recorded the movement of protesters along the Esplanada dos Ministérios.

First, the ministry said that the images could not be shared as they were already “under criminal investigation”. “This administrative decision aims to preserve the authority of the Judiciary with regard to sharing evidence contained in Inquiries with any ongoing investigations”, said the Ministry of Justice.

In an interview with the newspaper The state of Sao PauloDino stated that “the images are in police investigations” and that it was enough to “ask whoever presides over the investigation”, in reference to the STF.

At the end of August, after he was denounced for malfeasance, the pretext changed. After Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, authorized the Ministry of Justice to share all the images with CPMI, Dino began to state that the images no longer existed. He claimed a “contractual problem”.

“The same problem happened in the Senate. It’s a contractual problem. I didn’t know that. I’m not a contract manager, I’m the Minister of Justice. The Federal Police came here and collected what they needed. I only found out now which images the PF collected. I didn’t know. I know the investigation, everything is confidential”, he said.

The opposition was not satisfied with the explanation. At the end of September, federal deputy Bibo Nunes (PL-RS) filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) against Dino for alleged crimes of responsibility, procedural fraud, impediment to the investigation of criminal offenses and loss, and evasion or destruction of documents.

The omission of the Lula government in 8/1 and the hypotheses of premeditation

There are ongoing inquiries at the Supreme Court that investigate, among other things, the participation of Bolsonaro supporters in the demonstrations, the financing of the groups that demonstrated and even the intellectual authorship of the January 8th attacks. There is, however, no similar movement by the Judiciary to investigate the federal government for omission or malfeasance. These hypotheses only gained attention from members of public authorities during the 8/1 CPMI.

Excerpts from the images provided from two Ministry of Justice cameras show that, around an hour after the invasions of public buildings, which began around 3pm on January 8, men from the National Force circulated calmly around the reception. Dino claims that the corporation had been placed on standby by him, but was not activated due to the expectation of a formal request from the governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha (MDB).

The minister and the National Force, which is subordinate to Dino, remained at least two and a half hours without reacting to the vandalism events, according to images revealed. Troop soldiers and Dino himself watched everything that was happening a few meters in front of him.

Furthermore, in his statement to CPMI, photographer Adriano Machado, from Reuters, reported the presence of around 240 members of the National Force positioned behind the building, close to the parking lot, when the invasions had already begun. Machado’s report reinforces the opposition’s suspicion that the government was lenient with the attacks.

Since April, this hypothesis has been raised, after it was revealed that Dino and the then commander of the Institutional Security Office (GSI), Gonçalves Dias, were warned on January 6, 2023 by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) about the possibility of violent actions in the acts of January 8, that is, two days before the protest that culminated in the invasion and depredation of the headquarters of the Three Powers. The ministers claim that they did not receive the reports, but Abin guarantees that the messages were also sent to Dias’ cell phone.

Another mystery is the presence of Dias and members of the GSI in Planalto that Sunday, revealed by security camera images released in April this year. The former minister told the Federal Police that he was in the building to remove the protesters and that he did not arrest them because he was trying to carry out “crisis management”.