STF Convicts Five in 'Núcleo 2' Coup Case, Sets Lengthy Prison Terms

Overview

• Brazil’s Supreme Court First Panel unanimously convicted five of six defendants tied to the operational arm of the 2022–2023 coup plot, while federal delegate Fernando de Sousa Oliveira won acquittal on reasonable-doubt grounds.
• Mário Fernandes received 26 years and 6 months, Silvinei Vasques 24 years and 6 months, Marcelo Costa Câmara 21 years, Filipe Martins 21 years, and Marília Ferreira de Alencar 8 years and 6 months.
• The panel imposed additional penalties that include R$30 million in joint damages, suspension of political rights after final judgment, declarations of inelegibility, loss of public posts for Silvinei and Marília, and proceedings to strip military ranks from Fernandes and Câmara.
• The convictions rest on PGR allegations of drafting a coup decree, using PRF operations to hinder Northeast voters in 2022, and planning violent actions such as the “Punhal Verde Amarelo” scheme.
• As the Senate takes up the ‘dosimetria’ bill, Minister Alexandre de Moraes warned against weakening punishments, and the Federal Police—on his orders—arrested TRF-2 judge Macário Júdice Neto in a leaks probe citing affectionate messages and a Flamengo ticket request exchanged with Rio deputy Rodrigo Bacellar.