Mendonça rejects criminal complaint against Nikolas Ferreira for alleged transphobia

The minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) André Mendonça rejected this Monday (15) five criminal complaints against federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) for alleged practice of transphobia when speaking in the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, in March 2023. On International Women’s Day, wearing a wig, the parliamentarian from Minas Gerais said that “women are losing space to men who feel like women”.

The petitions were presented by deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ), by LGBTQIA + entities and by Psol. They asked that Ferreira be investigated for allegedly committing the crimes of transphobia, gender-based political violence and harassment, embarrassment, humiliation or threat to a holder of elected office, using contempt or discrimination against the status of a woman.

The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) sent an opinion against the opening of investigations to the Supreme Court. For the PGR, although it may be considered in bad taste, Ferreira’s statement is protected by parliamentary immunity, as it was given in the plenary gallery.

Mendonça considered that it is up to the Chamber of Deputies to investigate any breach of decorum and punish it in the political sphere. The rapporteur pointed out that “free action by parliamentarians in defending their opinions, without constraints or fear of hindrance of any kind, is a fundamental condition for the full exercise of their functions”.

The judge highlighted that the Court has “historically decided that even demonstrations carried out outside the physical premises of Congress are covered by immunity, as long as they are related to the exercise of the parliamentary mandate”.

“It is not possible to state that the words of the representative represented, including with regard to reproduction on his social networks, are not related to his mandate and are not covered by material immunity”, said Mendonça in the decision.

“Parliamentary activity encompasses debate, discussion, the effort to demonstrate, sometimes in a forceful way and through different rhetorical instruments, the supposed inconsistencies, flaws and errors of opponents and opposing political-ideological speeches”, added the minister.