Meeting on coup d'état held at Braga Netto's residence
Brazil´s Federal Police discovered that one of the meetings discussing the coup plot to prevent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's inauguration and assassinate him, vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice Alexandre de Moraes was held at General Braga Netto's residence on November 12, 2022.
During former President Jair Bolsonaro's administration, Braga Netto served as his Chief of Staff and was the vice-presidential candidate on the re-election ticket in 2022.
The intelligence report on operation Contragolpe (“Counter-Coup”), reveals that on November 12, 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cesar Cid, then-Major Rafael de Oliveira, and Lieutenant Colonel Ferreira Lima gathered at the residence of General Walter Souza Braga Netto.
The operation was launched on Tuesday, Nov. 19, to arrest five military personnel accused of participating in the attempted coup d'état.
According to investigators, following the meeting at Braga Netto's residence, a document titled Copa 2022 began circulating among the individuals under investigation. This document, allegedly approved during the meeting, supported the actions of the Army's elite group (the "black kids") in executing the coup plan. It outlined the initial logistical requirements and resources needed to fund the covert operation.
One of the messages found on the cell phones of those under investigation suggested an amount of BRL 100,000 to fund the operation, which was ultimately never executed. The use of military personnel stationed in Rio de Janeiro was also considered, although the "black kids" are based in Goiânia.
The other side
When contacted by Agência Brasil, Braga Netto's defense stated it would not comment on the case as it had not yet had access to the investigation. Former President Jair Bolsonaro has not made any statements regarding the Federal Police operation. On social media, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president's son, declared that "thinking about killing someone is not a crime."
