In the 8/1 trial, Marques and Mendonça cite the STF’s ‘incompetence’

When returning against the conviction of Miguel Fernando Ritter, aged 61, for involvement in the acts of January 8, the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Kassio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça, cited the Court’s “incompetence” to judge the case.

The trial concluded this Wednesday (3) with the majority following the vote of the rapporteur, minister Alexandre de Moraes, who sentenced the elderly man to 14 years in prison and payment of a fine.

Mr. Miguel was accused by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) of the crimes of armed criminal association, violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, and damage qualified by violence and serious threat, with the use of a flammable substance, against the Union property and with considerable damage to the victim.

“Although the thesis of the Federal Supreme Court’s incompetence in exercising the judgment on the admissibility of complaints was not accepted in the judgments carried out within the scope of the Virtual Plenary, I think that the issue was not precluded and deserves in-depth reflection, debate and confrontation in this Collegiate, having in view of the established jurisprudential orientation in the opposite direction [..] I maintain that the right to a natural judge, provided for in art. 5th, XXXVII and LIII, of our Major Law, constitutes a fundamental guarantee that the party responds to the competent judge, limiting the powers of the State, which will not establish a court or tribunal of exception”, said Nunes Marques in his vote.

“This is a fundamental guarantee established in democratic states governed by the rule of law over the last few centuries”, added the minister.

In the same sense, Minister André Mendonça reinforced the incompetence of the Supreme Court to judge the case and recalled that although Mr. Miguel was arrested in the Federal Senate plenary, no weapon or relevant object was found with him.

“It is undisputed that the requested party was among the protesters and ended up entering the Senate Plenary. But there is no evidence that he vandalized any property”, said the minister when voting for the defendant’s acquittal.

As he has done in other cases, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso partially disagreed with the rapporteur, however, only to “avoid the conviction for the offense provided for in art. 359-L of the Penal Code (violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law)”.

According to the PF report, that the People’s Gazette had access, the only data regarding the elderly person is that his name appears on the passenger list of one of the buses that traveled from Santa Rosa, in Rio Grande do Sul, to Brasília, on January 6, 2023, in order to participate of the demonstrations.

Ministers Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia, Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, Luiz Fux, Cristiano Zanin and Edson Fachin followed the rapporteur’s vote. The last two with reservations about the size of the penalty.

Mechanic and businessman, Miguel Fernando Ritter is the father of the lawyer and president of the Association of Families and Victims of January 8th (Asfav), Gabriela Ritter.

In January of this year, the elderly man was the target of a search and seizure carried out by the Federal Police (PF) shortly after Gabriela participated in an eight-hour live broadcast regarding the acts of 8/1.

“Is this an attempt at intimidation?” asked the lawyer in an interview with People’s Gazettein season.

“I participated in Live da Verdade this morning and, at 7 am, I was woken up by a call informing me that the Federal Police are at my father’s house”, he reported.

In addition to searching every room in the house, which Gabriela sees as an attempt at “evidence fishing” as there is no evidence to incriminate the mechanic, she said that the agents also asked the elderly man several questions, including about his political preferences.

“The first question they asked was whether he had a party option, something that is a free choice for people and could never be asked because it is something secret”, said the lawyer when denouncing the situation as a “violation of human rights and which directs this process as extremely political.”