What does the PF intelligence report say about vandalism in Brasilia

The focus of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), on imputing to the Federal District authorities a relevant part of the blame for the invasion and depredation of the seats of the three powers, on January 8, originates from an intelligence report from the Federal Police (PF) forwarded to him in the evening of the same day. The document, forwarded to Moraes’ office by the new director general of the PF, Andrei Passos Rodrigues, describes how the local police forces had been remiss in protecting the buildings, even though they were aware of the risk of vandalism.

Over 20 pages, the Directorate of Intelligence of the PF identified invitations that circulated on social networks, in the previous days, to call demonstrators to the protest. It also found that the arrival of dozens of buses to the federal capital to join the demonstration was public knowledge. The document also describes how the low police force mobilized on the day was unable to contain the seizure of the headquarters of the three powers.

“The information about the arrival of protesters to Brasília/DF was already known to the security forces of the Federal District. In addition, the entire route of the Army Headquarters camp was accompanied by the same forces, which did not employ sufficient police barriers to contain the demonstrators, allowing them to access the lawn of the Esplanada dos Ministérios and the Praça dos Três Poderes”, says the official letter sent by Andrei Rodrigues to judge Airton Vieira, assistant to Moraes, at 11:23 pm on the 8th.

In this summary, the director general of the PF emphasizes the supposed omission of the local authorities, which then became the main legal basis used by Alexandre de Moraes to remove Governor Ibaneis Rocha from office at dawn on the 9th and, subsequently, determine the arrest of the former Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District Anderson Torres and the former Commander of the Military Police Fábio Augusto Vieira.

“This information indicates the possibility of an eventual omission by the public authorities who had a legal duty to act and eventually failed to act, even in the face of information that warned of events to come, as well as the images that showed the protesters moving from the HQ-Ex [quartel-general do Exército] to Praça dos Três Poderes, allowing such damage to take shape”, says Andrei Passos Rodrigues in the document.

“The anti-democratic demonstrations reached high levels of violence, causing severe damage to public assets and institutions, all due to the omission of the Security System, notably the State Secretariat for Public Security of the Federal District and the Command of the Military Police of the Federal District, which did not adopt the necessary measures to contain criminals”, adds the director general of the PF.

In the same official letter, he asked for the arrest of Anderson Torres and Fábio Vieira – which was complied with by Moraes, who neither consulted nor communicated the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), who asked for the opening of the investigation.

The intelligence report also reports that the demonstrators arrived in Brasília on the 6th, “an opportunity in which the increased flow of vehicles and people in that camp was identified and alerted by the local and federal public security forces”. The document attaches messages on social networks in which activists provide “free buses”, leaving Campinas (SP), with “everything paid”: “water, coffee, lunch, dinner, place with bathrooms”. “There he will be camped on the Plateau […] Please help us get patriots”, says the text, followed by the slogan of former president Jair Bolsonaro: “Brazil above all, God above all”, in capital letters and surrounded by stickers with the national flag. The message gives the name and telephone number of those responsible: Leandro Lourenço and Rafael “Avante Brasil”.

The intelligence report goes on to record that local and federal security forces, in addition to the press, began to report the arrival of buses heading to Praça dos Cristais, where the camp was set up, in front of the Army headquarters.

“On 01/08/2023, the demonstrators left the HQ-Ex [quartel-general do Exército] towards Praça dos Três Poderes, which was also disseminated by local and federal public security agencies. At this point, there were already an estimated four thousand people camped in that location”, says the report, attaching images from security cameras.

PF report exempts security forces from the Lula government, Congress and the STF

Another crucial point for Moraes’ decisions was the information in the PF report that there were “insufficient” barriers to prevent pedestrians from entering the Esplanada dos Ministérios. Then, another serious problem is reported: “the images show the PMDF escorting the demonstrators towards the Dome of the Three Powers”.

“The last barrier located on the way to Praça dos Três Poderes, made up of conventional police officers [não de controle de distúrbio civil] it was easily broken by the demonstrators, who arrived at the place”, informs the report, attaching figures that show the demonstrators going down the track that leads to the headquarters of the Supreme Court and the Planalto Palace.

“After that, the Ministries lawn and the Praça dos Três Poderes area were taken over. There was an attempt at resistance by the National Public Security Force and by the Legislative Police of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies”, records the document – this part of the report exempts the internal security organs of Congress and the police under the command of the federal government, the National Force.

In the final part, the report says that “the damage to the tangible and intangible heritage of the Federative Republic of Brazil is immeasurable” and that, as it is a “multitudinous” crime (committed by a multitude), “its accountability involves time and investigative effort to identify and individualize the conduct of the people who committed the crimes”.

Once again, the PF report underscores “the possibility of an eventual omission by public authorities who had a legal duty to act and eventually failed to do so, even in the face of information that warned of events to come, as well as images that showed demonstrators moving from HQ-Ex [quartel-general do Exército] to Praça dos Três Poderes, allowing such damage to take shape”. The text concludes by stating that “images released on this date show a patent error of assessment by the PMDF and the SSP/DF regarding the facts that occurred”.

The PF document also reproduces reports showing police officers from the Federal District escorting the march towards Praça dos Três Poderes and that there was a record of PMs taking pictures of themselves while demonstrators invaded Congress.

Responsible for the report, delegate Thiago Severo de Rezende also listed the possible crimes committed in the case: violent abolition of the Democratic State of Law, attempted coup d’état, damage to Union property and criminal organization.

How to defend yourself who was held accountable by the Federal Police

In the inquiry opened at the STF, Ibaneis Rocha (governor removed from the Federal District), Anderson Torres (former Secretary of Public Security) and Fábio Augusto Vieira (former commander of the PM-DF) tried, each in their own way, to exempt themselves from responsibility for security breaches.

In his defense, presented to the STF, Ibaneis Rocha claimed that he used information provided by public agents. Initially, he reported that, on the 8th, at 1:23 pm, before the invasions, the interim Secretary of Security, Fernando Oliveira, told him that intelligence was monitoring the act and there was no “report of aggressiveness” and that the climate was “ calm and pleasant” – the expressions were verbalized by the secretary himself in WhatsApp audios with transcripts attached to the process.

“Only at 3:39 pm, when he became aware of the real terrorism situation that haunted Praça dos Três Poderes, did the Chief Executive, in an energetic manner, order the Secretary of Security: ‘Put everything out on the street [todo o contingente policial]. Get these bums out of Congress and arrest as many as possible’”, said the defense, reproducing the messages later sent by Ibaneis to Fernando Oliveira.

The removed governor also attached a document to the defense stating that inspectors tried to demobilize the camp in front of the Army barracks, removing street vendors from there. The operation would have been frustrated by determination of the Army itself. Finally, a protocol of integrated actions, set up by the Secretariat of Security, was added to the investigation to share protection tasks. “The Petitioner, as Governor of the Federal District, trusted in its execution, even more so when he obtained information that everything was going on in an absolutely calm and peaceful manner”, stated Ibaneis’s defense.

In the only statement he has given so far, held on January 14, the day he was handed over to prison, Anderson Torres defended himself by talking about his professional past. “I just want to say that I have been a public security professional for 23 years, I have always done my job professionally, I have never been affiliated with a party, I have held a political position because of the result of my work and, really, this arrest and this accusation got to me. very surprised,” he said. He also said that he has nothing to do with the invasions and that the episode represented “a cannon shot in my chest” for him.

“I would never allow this to happen, I am a professional, I am a coach and I would never do that. The biggest Public Security project in the Federal District is my responsibility,” he added, referring to a program that would have reduced homicide rates and which would have qualified him to occupy the Ministry of Justice later, in the Bolsonaro government. In this position, he reported having visited all the ministers of the STF, including Alexandre de Moraes, to try to “calm down” what he described as “a delicate moment between the Powers”.

In an implicit reference to the security scheme, he stated: “The way I left, what I left signed, I left calm, because even if a bomb had fallen in Brasília, what happened would not have happened. I leave the house every day at 7 am and arrive at midnight. Sorry for the outburst, but being accused of terrorism, coup d’état?! For God’s sake, what’s going on?! I don’t know… This war that was created in the country, this confusion between the Powers, this ideological war, I don’t belong to that, I am a balanced citizen and I don’t owe this bill”.

Afterwards, Anderson Torres repeated that he visited each of the STF ministers, including in the homes of several of them, “to seek balance”. “The Ministry of Justice and Public Security was the first Ministry to deliver the transition reports. I have never questioned the result of the Election, there is no manifestation from me in this regard […] I honored the post of Minister of Justice. There isn’t a Brazilian in Brazil who hasn’t heard a lot of craziness after the Election, and I’ve always been balanced”, said Anderson Torres.

Former PM commander, Colonel Fábio Augusto Vieira said in his first statement, on the 11th, after his arrest, that on the 8th he was present at the Esplanada dos Ministérios and carried out the operation “according to the information we had received”. He said that information from the intelligence area and other security bodies pointed to a peaceful act. “There was no facilitation on our part for the acts to take place”, he added, rebutting one of the main suspicions raised against the PM-DF.

In a second statement to the PF, Fábio Vieira reaffirmed that the intelligence information he received indicated a peaceful act. Therefore, he considered that the staff employed, initially 440 men, was sufficient. With the invasions, the corporation ended up employing a total of 2,600 police to disperse the invaders and vacate the buildings. The colonel also said that he had noticed a lack of personnel in other security bodies, such as the police of Congress and the STF. He reported that, since last year, the PM has been unable to dismantle the camp in front of the Army HQ, by determination of the Army itself, which has control over the area. “Despite being a public area, that area is administered by the military, and thus needed authorization from the Army,” he said.