Military Justice condemns colonel who called generals “cowards” on 8/1

The federal judge of the 1st Audit of the 11th Military Judicial Circuit (CJM), of the Federal Military Justice (JMU), Flávia Ximenes Aguiar de Sousa, sentenced the retired colonel, Adriano Camargo Testoni, to one month of 18 days of detention for him having cursed generals in videos recorded during the demonstrations on January 8th.

“Armed Forces, motherfucker…! Bunch of motherfucking generals…! Cowards! Look what’s happening to us! This Army of ours is shit! How embarrassing! Shame on you, soldiers, classmates. They’re going to take it all in their hands…”, said the colonel in a video recorded at Praça dos Três Poderes during the events on January 8, at a time when police forces were acting against the protesters.

In the video, Testoni appears visibly altered and mentions the names of the Army commander, Marco Antônio Freire Gomes; retired general Ridauto Lúcio Fernandes; general Carlos Duarte Pontual de Lemos, commander of the 1st Military Region; General Cristiano Pinto Sampaio, commander of the 10th Military Region of the Army; and General Pedro Celso Coelho Montenegro, commander of the 2nd Army Division.

At the time of the demonstrations, Testoni worked as an advisor to the Administrative and Financial Coordination Division of the Hospital das Forças Armadas. Testoni was fired after the repercussions of the video. On January 9, Testoni shared another video apologizing.

“The Defendant claimed that his revolt arose due to the perception that the Army should protect the protesters, as, in his opinion, the public security forces were acting contrary to this ideal. Although the context can be considered as an explanation for their behavior, this does not justify the insults uttered, much less in relation to the offended parties who, on that specific date, had no influence on the repressive forces acting during the January 8th demonstrations.” , says an excerpt from the decision handed down by judge Flávia Ximenes against the soldier.

Testoni was included in articles 216 and 218 of the Military Penal Code, which provide, respectively, up to six months in prison for anyone who insults or offends someone’s dignity or decorum, in addition to an increase in the sentence if the offense is directed at a superior.

As the defendant is “technically primary” and has a “good record”, the judge decided on the minimum sentence.

Colonel Adriano Camargo Testoni can still appeal the decision.