Prosecutors target ousted Brasília governor, former security official

Brazil’s Prosecutor-General’s Office has requested the Supreme Court to open an inquiry into suspended Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha and former Secretary of Public Security Anderson Torres.

The probes should focus on the conduct of those involved in the Sunday (Jan. 8) terrorist attacks at the buildings of the National Congress, the Planalto presidential palace, and the Supreme Court.

Dated January 10, the motion also targets onetime Military Police Commander Fábio Augusto Vieira and former acting Public Safety Secretary Fernando de Sousa Oliveira. The document was signed by deputy prosecutor Lindôra Araújo.

“A violent and anti-democratic mob, dissatisfied with the outcome of the 2022 election and aiming at the abolition of the democratic state of law and the deposition of a legitimately constituted government, launched an attack on the headquarters of the three branches of power, which prompted a swift and vigorous response from the state,” she wrote.

“If we are to take the audio recording [disclosed by the press] as true—according to which public security authorities of the Federal District, with full knowledge of Ibaneis Rocha, not only allowed but indeed organized a peaceful escort alongside the criminals who attacked the democratic rule law—we are, at the very least, facing a criminal omission by the governor of the Federal District, who must have conscientiously and voluntarily agreed and contributed to the serious crimes reported in Brasília on January 8, 2023,” the document goes on to read.

After the riot, Ibaneis Rocha was removed from office following a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Then, he said he respects the justice’s decision and repudiated the attacks.

Earlier on, Justice Moraes had ordered the arrest of Anderson Torres and former Commander Fábio Augusto Vieira.