PF tries to use major’s message to link Bolsonaro to act against the STF

In the investigation into the forgery of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s vaccine card, the Federal Police (PF) obtained the image of a WhatsApp message in which the lawyer and former soldier Ailton Barros tries to communicate to him, in February last year , that groups of supporters were mobilizing to set up a camp in Brasília, on March 31, 2022, to try to force the 11 ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to leave.

Federal police responsible for the investigation try to use the message to link the former president to the preparation of the act. In a statement to the PF, Bolsonaro said that the information did not reach him and guaranteed that he “never passed on any guidance on the aforementioned guidelines to Ailton and/or any other group”.

The inquiry suggests that the former soldier tried to make contact with Bolsonaro, but does not bring concrete evidence that he was successful.

Arrested on the 3rd of May, Ailton Gonçalves Moraes Barros is a reserve major who, according to PF investigations, would have helped Bolsonaro’s former aide, Mauro Cid, to insert false data into the Ministry of Health system that records the application of doses against Covid. The PF captured messages that Ailton would have sent to Bolsonaro himself, in February 2022.

“another thing PR! The leaders of these Abrapas groups and others, that is, the groups that organized September 7th. They keep trying to probe me what the posture of the PR in relation to the movement they want to do for the 31st of March (they don’t want to do anything that could harm the PR). I didn’t give a receipt, but I told them that PR doesn’t get involved or give an opinion on these issues and that it respects the popular will. And that the President [sic], as you already know, usually when there is a healthy popular demonstration he normally greets the people as he has done. Then I asked what would be your guidelines? The first agenda: ‘we are going to camp in Brasília until the 11 ministers of the STF leave their chairs! This is the first … kkk … I made an excuse and ended the call (…)”

That message, reproduced in this report as it was transcribed by the Federal Police, would have been sent by Ailton and the image of it was found on the cell phone of Bolsonaro’s former assistant, Mauro Cid, suspected of forging Covid vaccine cards to the former president and his daughter.

The date of March 31 was chosen in reference to the military regime

March 31 is a date celebrated by supporters of the military regime, as it was the day, in 1964, when military troops began to move across the country to force the deposition of former President João Goulart.

The “Abrapas”, mentioned by Ailton Barros in the message are WhatsApp groups spread across the country that bring together Bolsonaro supporters. Abrapa stands for the Brazilian Association of Patriots. Although not formally established, the movement has a strong presence in the South and Midwest and links with segments that support the former president, especially truck drivers and rural producers, who organized street acts in support of the past government and against the actions of the STF. in the last years.

Shirts made by the members, in green and yellow, with the flag of Brazil, bear inscriptions such as “exoneration of the 11 ministers” and “public vote count”, a reference to the defense of the printed vote, as defended by Bolsonaro. At least one protest against the STF was registered on the date in March 2022.

In the print of Ailton’s message to Bolsonaro, the PF also highlighted the following message:

“I can operate on these Gp(s) so that their agendas are of interest to me. Ex:

– stick in the Côrno do Xandão always;

– sluggish old fagot on the issue of electronic ballot boxes;

Impeachment of Côrno do Xandão, which is shelved in the Senate. I put it in our guidelines. If you want, I’ll stretch out there, I’ll set these guidelines and release… “

Xandão is the nickname with which Minister Alexandre de Moraes became known, Bolsonaro’s biggest foe in the STF and who was the rapporteur of a series of inquiries against the former president and his supporters. The message about the electronic voting machines possibly refers to Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, who at the time presided over the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and defended, together with Congress, the rejection of the printed vote, which outraged Bolsonaro’s allied base at the time.

In another print, captured by the PF on Mauro Cid’s cell phone, Ailton writes the following messages to the contact recorded as “PR 01”:

“Good morning! PR wants me to call or is it already gone?”

“I deleted it because I already got guidance from Cidinho”

These messages were presented to Bolsonaro last Tuesday (18) during his interrogation at the Federal Police, as part of the investigation into vaccine cards.

Bolsonaro says Barros approached him to try to get support to run

At the beginning of his testimony, Bolsonaro said that he has known Ailton Barros for about 20 years and that he met him at events linked to the Parachute Brigade of Rio de Janeiro, to which the former president belonged when he was at the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras (Aman), of the Army, in the late 1970s. To the PF, Bolsonaro also said that Ailton Barros approached him “as a way of promoting his candidacy” when running for political office.

Asked why Ailton had sent him these messages, Bolsonaro replied that “he did not participate in or guide any act of insurrection or subversion against the rule of law. The delegate in the case also asked Bolsonaro about what “guidance” Mauro Cid would have given Ailton, in the message in which he says he deleted something (possibly the very message he had sent). Bolsonaro said he did not know and defended the former helper.

“He replied that he did not know, but he doubts that Mauro Cid would have reinforced the aforementioned guidelines; that Mauro Cid is a highly qualified military man, first place in all military competitions in which he is graduated, being therefore a disciplined military man who would never condone subversive acts”, says the statement, a document that records the former president’s responses during interrogation.

The PF also asked Bolsonaro if he is aware of Ailton Barros’ attempts to “execute a coup d’état after the result of the 2022 elections, to keep the declarant
[Bolsonaro] in the power”. He answered no and that Ailton “does not have the leadership to enlist people for any act”. Afterwards, he stressed that he “does not agree with any negotiations in this regard”. Bolsonaro still denied that Ailton had asked him for guidance, through Mauro Cid, to influence the agenda of the demonstrations in his favor and against the STF and the TSE.

The PF also presented him with audio messages that would have been sent by Ailton Barros to Mauro Cid, on February 4th and 5th of last year.

“CID, good night! CID, just for, just for me to confirm, just… Position myself on some things. CID, these movements of these groups, business of March 31, I don’t know what…”

“CID, good morning! CID, after you understand that this is the case. It’s the first opportunity, comment with the PR that these groups from these strong groups [sic], then those who organized it are Sete de Setembro, right? ABRAPA staff and limited company. That they were probing me there trying to get something from me. If the president is in favor, if he is not in favor, I’m giving a receipt for nothing, huh? I only give them if they give me the direction (…) They are wanting to camp in Brasilia. His group is divided (…) But what they want to do is go to Brasília on March 31st, camp there until the eleven ministers set foot. That’s their idea. Camp until the eleven ministers keep in [sic] the feet. And that”

“CID, good morning! CID, at the first opportunity you have with the PR, you tell him that these ABRAPAs are life groups, right? I think the strongest is ABRAPA from Goiânia, from Goiânia (…) If that, why the president, if the president was, it was in favor of people to make a movement on March 31st, a march to Brasília, a since there is a part of the group that wants it and another part of the group that doesn’t want it”

Ex-president says he has not received messages about protest preparation

In the statement, Bolsonaro said that these guidelines did not reach him and that he “never passed on any guidance on said guidelines to Ailton and/or any other group”. Asked if he still kept in touch with Ailton Barros, Bolsonaro replied that he did, “through sporadic conversations on messaging apps”. Then he pointed out that “he had no personal relationship with Ailton; that Ailton’s approximations took place mainly in electoral moments”.

Ailton Barros ran for state deputy in Rio in last year’s elections for the PL, but he did not get enough votes and is now an alternate. He was also a member of the Aman Parachute Brigade, where he was a colleague of Mauro Cid. In 2006, Ailton was expelled from the Army for contempt, later becoming a lawyer.

In an interview with the magazine Look, Bolsonaro stated that he had contact with Ailton Barros only twice a year at paratrooper meetings. He also said: “Ailton doesn’t mobilize half a dozen domino players. If you talk to him, you’ll see that. It’s a poor thing.”

The investigation into the vaccine card was taken over by Alexandre Moraes because he is also investigating the act on January 8, when Bolsonaro supporters left the camp in front of the Army Headquarters, in Brasília, towards the Esplanada dos Ministérios, which resulted in the invasion and depredation of the seats of the Powers.

Mauro Cid was called to testify this Thursday (18) to the PF, but opted for silence, because his defense has not yet had access to the entire investigation – investigators are still analyzing what was found on his cell phone, seized on the day of his arrest. , earlier this month.