Moraes gives PGR 15 days to comment on the Monark case

After being banned from social media in Brazil by order of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and trying to reopen accounts on digital platforms, influencer Bruno Monteiro Aiub, known as Monark, is awaiting a response from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) regarding the case. . The manifestation was requested by Minister Alexandre de Moraes this Monday (5), and the body has 15 days to respond.

In the document sent, Moraes forwarded the investigation completed by the Federal Police (PF) regarding the “alleged practice of the crime of disobedience to a court decision”. In it, the PF informs that “the infraction in question continues, characterized by the repeated refusal to comply with the court order to cease the dissemination (publishing, promoting, replicating or sharing) of fraudulent news (fake news)”, states an excerpt from the inquiry.

The PF report also cites content publications made on social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, and informs that “the analysis of these publications reveals substantial evidence that points to the persistence of transgression of the imposed court orders”.

In an interview with Gazeta do Povo, Monark stated that he did not know what to expect from the PGR’s response, but he believes that “the persecution will continue”. “They want to arrest me and take me out of the game somehow, unfortunately.”

Why did Monark become a target of the judiciary?

Monark entered the Judiciary list after criticizing measures imposed by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) during the 2022 elections. Much of the criticism was directed at the president of the Court, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, and also at the electoral process.

According to the document sent by Moraes to the PGR on Monday (5), the case began with a video located through data research from the Special Advisory Office for Combating Disinformation of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). In the publication, Monark interviewed federal deputy Filipe Barros (PL-PR) about the integrity of electoral institutions and allegedly presented “fake news”.

The interview was made available on the social network Rumble on June 5, when the influencer questioned transparency in the elections. “Do we see the TSE censoring people, Alexandre de Moraes arresting people, a lot of things happening and, at the same time, they are preventing the transparency of the ballot boxes? You become suspicious. What madness is happening at the polls there? What is the interest? Manipulate the ballot boxes? Manipulate the elections?” said Monark at the time.

After the program, Moraes banned Monark from “publishing and sharing misinformation”, under penalty of a R$10,000 fine in case of non-compliance. “It is necessary, appropriate and urgent to interrupt the possible spread of speeches with hateful content, subversion of order and encouragement of the breakdown of institutional and democratic normality”, said the minister in the decision, in June. Moraes also determined “a daily fine of R$ 10,000.00 (ten thousand reais) in case of non-compliance”.

In the following months, however, the influencer created new profiles to produce content, and the minister fined Monark R$300,000 for failing to comply with a court decision, ordering the Central Bank to immediately block the amount of the fine.

“There is no longer any freedom of expression and they are silencing their political opponents”, highlighted the influencer, calling Moraes’ decision a “persecution” for an order considered illegal. “I was fined R$300,000 for not complying with a decision that was prior censorship,” said Monark.

The influencer is living in the USA

At the end of September 2023, he moved to the United States and restarted his podcast, “Monark Talks”, with new profiles. The programs have been published since November and, in recording this week published by the social network X, the boy stated that he intends to return to Brazil as soon as “the dictatorship ends, if it ends”.

Additionally, he is launching a new platform called “Bunker 555” where users can subscribe to access exclusive content. “It doesn’t have all the features yet, but it’s already working,” says Monark.