Rio Assembly Set to Vote on Keeping Speaker Rodrigo Bacellar in Custody After Leak Allegations

Overview

• Federal Police say Bacellar alerted ex-deputy TH Joias and instructed him to remove or destroy evidence, prompting Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes to order preventive detention on December 3.
• In excerpts aired by TV Globo’s Fantástico, Bacellar admitted speaking with TH the day before the raid and told him to worry about his daughter, while insisting he did not pass on confidential information.
• Investigators cite messages and videos from TH’s phone showing informal exchanges, a clip about a freezer full of meat, and a truck removing items from his home hours before his arrest.
• Questioned on why he did not inform authorities, Bacellar replied he was not there to “turn in a colleague”; agents also found R$90,000 in cash in his car, which he said he would justify later.
• The Alerj’s Constitution and Justice Committee meets before a plenary vote today that requires 36 votes to maintain the detention, as broader PF investigations continue and CV figure “Índio do Lixão” is transferred back to Bangu.