Bolsonaro’s attack on Congress, the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace of Brasilia on Sunday 8th has led to 1,200 people being arrested. Others were arrested (over 1,500 in total), but many were released on “humanitarian” charges because they were old, ill or had children in their care. Those who remain incarcerated are primarily the most violent and are being held red-handed in the squats: the men are sent to the dreaded Papuda prison, the women to Colmeia, two prisons on the outskirts of Brasilia.
They could be accused of very serious crimes: terrorism, overthrow of the rule of law and coup d’etat, as well as criminal organization and vandalism, lawyer Philipe Benoni, president of the National Association of Criminal Lawyers in Brasilia, explained by phone. In addition to representing the capital’s lawyers, he already has a number of clients behind bars and he knows his defense will not be easy: “Of course, the additional sentences can be more than 30 years. It must be understood that these were serious acts, unprecedented in the history of Brazil. Not even the coup of 1964 reached this scale and dared to invade the institutions in this way, the three powers,” he summarizes.
A handcuffed Bolsonaro supporter in front of the Planalto Palace on January 8. UESLEI MARCELINO (Portal)
Bolsonarists sit in front of police after invading Planalto Palace. Eraldo Peres (AP)
Police trainees climb one of the ramps of the Brazilian presidential palace. Eraldo Peres (AP)
After the riots, a police officer examines the backpack of a handcuffed man Matheus Alves (Getty Images)
There are many indications that the radicals knew exactly what to do to bypass the security of the buildings. According to police files obtained after the interrogations, to which the Globo chain had access, some were armed with stakes and sharp objects. One of the detainees, for example, stated that he would only use them if he was “attacked by leftists”. As soon as they entered the presidential palace, they stole ammunition and firearms. The passivity with which military police agents and some local authorities acted is also examined. The police commander in charge of the operation has been arrested, the security minister, who was also justice minister in the Bolsonaro government, has an arrest warrant and the governor of Brasilia has been removed from office.
Meanwhile, the Papuda inmates face a rather bleak future. Although it is a maximum security prison, it does not get rid of the main structural problem of the Brazilian prison system: overcrowding. It has a capacity for 5,800 prisoners but houses about 13,200 people, more than double that. The health and safety conditions are likely to come as a shock to the 770 men being held. The women’s prison, the new home for 420 Bolsonaristas, is a little better.
Most of the detainees are from outside of Brasilia and came to the capital to take part in the march on the 8th that led to the invasion. Among them are several retired soldiers.
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When the prisoners were temporarily transferred to a police sports facility for questioning a few days ago, many cried out at their lack of comfort. Some even complained that the Wi-Fi wasn’t working, according to a lawyer reviewing their situation. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the arrests, said sarcastically: “These terrorists who caused chaos and crime up until Sunday are now complaining that they are in prison and want the prison to be a holiday camp will. That they don’t think the institutions will relax,” he warned.
Bolsonarists arrested in the act by police lined up outside Planalto. UESLEI MARCELINO (Portal)
Attorney Benoni clarifies that at the moment the coup plotters are in the prison’s temporary holding area, not in its main pavilions, where such feared prisoners as Marcola, the drug trafficking leader of the Primer Comando da Capital (PCC), live most of the powerful criminal organization in South America or famous politicians imprisoned for corruption during Operation Lava Jato. As soon as they arrived at the prison, the Bolsonaristas were given an immaculate white uniform (shirt, trousers and flip-flops) and were given compulsory vaccinations against Covid-19. They eat three times a day and have access to reading and 30 minutes with their lawyers. According to Benoni, when moving to the last wings, they could share a cell with up to 50 people. “If you thought the police sports center was bad, this is much worse, and look, this is one of the best prisons in Brazil,” he notes.
What happens from now on is still in the nebulous ground because its current situation is also very doubtful. All of these 1,200 prisoners are not in preventive (which lasts ten days) or temporary (no defined duration) detention but remain in a legal status, which in Brazil is that of red-handed arrest. It’s a no-man’s-land that’s fairly erratic, according to legal representatives. On the other hand, she doesn’t see it as a problem that they are all charged by Judge Moraes with a crime as serious as terrorism or a coup d’état, although many of them have demonstrated peacefully. In his opinion, this is common in mass crimes, where not every behavior can be individualized. This will be done from now on.
The analysis of the individual cases is now the responsibility of the all-powerful judge Moraes, but it is “humanly impossible” for his cabinet to analyze the situation of each prisoner in a reasonable time. For this reason, the lawyers in Brasilia have asked the Supreme Court to mobilize assistant judges to act quickly. In theory, the police should complete their investigation into the incident in 30 days, but given the scale of events, it’s almost certain that the timeframe will be extended. Then come the complaints from the public prosecutor’s office and the trials. “Due to the seriousness of the facts, it is an exceptional situation, it will be a gigantic process that we do not know how it will be judged,” admits the lawyer from the capital.