Alexandre Moraes orders the release of Military Police arrested on 8/1

Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered the release of the colonel of the Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF), Marcelo Casimiro Vasconcelos Rodrigues, who is a member of the PMDF leadership and is under investigation in the 8th of January. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) expressed support for granting provisional release to the colonel at the end of April.

Colonel Marcelo Casimiro held the position of commander of the 1st Regional Policing Command (CPR) of the PMDF during the demonstrations. This command supervises several battalions of the corporation, including the 6th, responsible for the security of the Esplanada dos Ministérios. After the acts of vandalism, he was dismissed from his position. In his statement to the CPI of the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District, which investigated the acts of vandalism, he stated that he was off duty on the day of the demonstrations.

In early April, Moraes decided to arrest the colonel again. In March, he had ordered his release, claiming that Casimiro was in reserve. However, the colonel remains active. The police officer’s defense confirmed the information about his new arrest.

In February, the PMDF transferred some police officers to the paid reserve, since then receiving a salary of R$18,000 per month. The ordinance granting this benefit claims that the transfer occurred due to length of service.

According to the PGR, the PMDF leadership failed to act to prevent acts of vandalism against the headquarters of the Three Powers due to ideological alignment with the criminals who attacked the Democratic Rule of Law.

Investigations indicate that the police exchanged messages and disseminated false information with coup content before the second round of the 2022 presidential elections. The PGR claims to have found a “deep ideological contamination on the part of the DF Military Police officers who showed themselves to be adept at theories conspiracies about electoral fraud and coup theories”.

Furthermore, the agency mentions evidence that the police officers, who held command positions in the corporation, received various intelligence information before the 8th of January, suggesting the “coup intentions” of the movement and the “imminent risk of an effective invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers.”