Reserve General Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense and former Chief of Staff during the government of Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested by the Federal Police last Saturday (14) on charges of interfering in investigations into an alleged military coup plot. This is the firts time a four star general is arrested in Brazil.
The investigations point to Braga Netto as the mastermind of a plot to annul the 2022 elections, which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won. In addition, the general allegedly organized a meeting at his residence to discuss the assassination of Lula, the vice-president-elect, Geraldo Alckmin, and Alexandre de Moraes, minister of the Brazilian High Court (STF, in Portuguese).
The investigation pointed out evidence that Braga Netto also financed activities related to the coup plan and tried to obstruct the police investigation by seeking access to statements from those involved.
The operation included search warrants at Netto's home in Rio de Janeiro. Following his arrest, the general remains in military custody at the Eastern Military Command in Rio de Janeiro.
Braga Netto is the first four-star general arrested in Brazil, marking a historic moment in the Armed Forces. His lawyers say he denies any involvement in the conspiracy and that they will prove his innocence.
The general's arrest comes amid a series of actions by the Brazilian authorities to investigate and hold to account individuals involved in attempts to disrupt democracy after the 2022 elections. His continued detention was confirmed after a custody hearing held the same day.
Who is General Braga Netto?
Born in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state), Braga Netto is an army reserve general and former Chief of Staff and Defense Minister in the Bolsonaro government. In 2022, when the former president sought re-election and was defeated, Braga Netto was also a candidate for vice president on Bolsonaro's Far-Right Party. The military officer is 67 years old and joined the army in 1975.
In 2018, during the government of Michel Temer (who assumed the presidency after President Dilma Rousseff was impeached in 2016), Braga Netto was appointed Security Interventionist in Rio de Janeiro, commanding the Civil and Military Police, the Fire Brigade, and the state's prison system. Braga Netto joined the Bolsonaro government in February 2020 as Minister of the Civil House. The following year, he took over the Ministry of Defense. He left the ministry a year later to run in the 2022 elections.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes described Walter Souza Braga Netto as an "extremely dangerous" suspect in the decision to order the Federal Police to arrest him. The general is expected to give a new statement to the Federal Police next week and comment on the reasons for his arrest, such as an attempt to obstruct the investigation.
Edited by: Martina Medina
