Police investigates businesspeople suspected of advocating coup
The Federal Police raided Tuesday properties of businesspeople who allegedly advocated, in messages exchanged in a WhatsApp group, a coup d’état if President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party, PL) is defeated by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party, PT), the frontrunner in the polls.The measures were requested by the police and authorized by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), after the case was revealed by Guilherme Amado, a columnist with the website Metrópoles.In all, the police carried out search and seizure warrants against eight businesspeople in five states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Ceará. Mr. de Moraes also authorized the blocking of profiles on social media and the disclosure of bank and telephone records.Among the targets of the operation are Havan’s Luciano Hang; Coco Bambu’s Afrânio Barreira; Multiplan’s José Isaac Peres; W3 Engenharia’s Ivan Wrobel; Mormaii’s Marco Aurélio Raymundo; Barra World Shopping’s José Koury; Grupo Sierra Móveis’s André Tissot; and Tecnisa’s Meyer Nigri.Last week, requests were presented to the STF for the businesspeople to be investigated in a probe on the existence of a group that acts to undermine the democratic rule of law.The raids provoked a war of versions between Mr. de Moraes and the Prosecutor-General of the Republic, Augusto Aras. In a note, the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) said that the body was not consulted beforehand and that Mr. Aras learned of the case only Tuesday. Justice de Moraes’s office, however, refuted the information and released proof that the PGR was communicated on Monday about the action of the PF.One target of the operation, businessman Meyer Nigri is close to Mr. Aras. He was mentioned in the prosecutor-general’s inauguration speech, who defined him as "a friend for all times."The operation took place at a time when Mr. Moraes was trying a truce with the Presidential Palace. Last week, Mr. Bolsonaro attended the justice’s inauguration as the elections chief.The evaluation of Mr. Bolsonaro’s campaign is similar. The prevailing assessment is that Mr. de Moraes "overreacted once again" by taking a measure "too strict" for a "plain WhatsApp group conversation."People familiar with the Supreme Court, however, say that such an operation against businesspeople was expected, considering the content of the messages. Mr. de Moraes, however, would have opted for a "middle ground,"...
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