The Federal Police (PF) serves on Tuesday (23) eight search and seizure warrants at addresses linked to pro-Bolsonaro businessmen who defended a coup in conversations in a WhatsApp group in case Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) is elected president this year.
The operations were ordered by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes. They are being carried out in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Ceará.
The Federal Police targets are Luciano Hang, owner of the Havan department store chain; Afrânio Barreira, of the Coco Bambu restaurant chain; José Isaac Peres, owner of the shopping mall giant Multiplan; José Koury, owner of Barra World Shopping, in Rio de Janeiro; André Tissot, of the Serra Group; Meyer Nigri, of Tecnisa; Ivan Wrobel, of the W3 Engenharia construction company; Marco Aurélio Raymundo, known as Morongo, owner of the Mormaii surfwear brand.
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They are part of a WhatsApp group in which circulate coup messages. The messages were revealed in a report by journalist Guilherme Amado published on the site Metrópoles, on Wednesday (17).
According to the follow-up of the report, the group has attacks against the STF, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and the exaltation of the Armed Forces.
There, José Koury said that he preferred an institutional rupture to the return of the PT to government. He also said that if Brazil were to return to living under a dictatorship, this would not prevent it from receiving foreign investment.
He also suggested the payment of bonuses to employees during the election period, which could constitute vote buying.
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Morongo supported in messages the military act called by President Bolsonaro for the September 7 holiday in Copacabana, Rio; he said it was a coup that "the prisoner" was freed and that the "supreme court" is acting against the Constitution.
Ivan Wrobel, on the other hand, spoke about supposed fraud in this year's election. "I want to see if the STF has the courage to cheat the elections after a military parade on the Atlantic Avenue with the troops applauded by the public," citing the act scheduled for the 7th.
According to the PF, the measures against the businessmen are part of a police investigation already underway at the Supreme Court.
Luciano Hang used social media to protest against the operation. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party), also criticized the action.
1- Tem um ditado que diz: se você rasga um travesseiro de penas e começa a sacudir, as penas voam e você nunca mais consegue reuni-las novamente. Quando uma mentira é contada sobre você, mesmo depois de desmentida, nem sempre a verdade se restabelece para todos. Hoje,
— Luciano Hang (@LucianoHangBr) August 23, 2022
É insano determinar busca e apreensão sobre empresários honestos, que geram milhares de empregos, alguns conhecidos de ministros do STF (que sabidamente jamais tramariam “golpe” nenhum) por dizerem que preferem qualquer coisa ao ex-presidiário, numa conversa privada de WhatsApp.
— Flavio Bolsonaro #B22 (@FlavioBolsonaro) August 23, 2022
Edited by: Nicolau Soares