The Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) released an official statement this Saturday (26) to reject the request for preventive arrest and search and seizure, presented by the campaign of Senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), against the general coordinator of Strategy and Information of the organ, George Marques.
Flávio Bolsonaro accuses the employee of spreading false information about the controversy involving the removal of Our Lady of Aparecida as the patroness of Brazil.In a statement, the Federal Government classified the request against the public servant as "unjust and arbitrary."Secom stated that by attributing the responsibility for the republication to the government, the candidate "distorts the facts and deliberately ignores that the statement occurred in strictly personal character, through a private profile, outside working hours and using his own equipment."
The secretariat also expressed "rejection and deep concern with the surveillance and censorship imposed on the population in this episode, at the request of candidate Flávio Bolsonaro," reiterating the federal government's commitment to freedom of expression and religion.
The formal representation by Flávio Bolsonaro's legal team includes a crime report filed with the General Prosecutor's Office (PGE), requesting the opening of an inquiry to investigate the alleged practice of an electoral crime under Article 323 of the Electoral Code.
The norm typifies the disclosure of knowingly false facts during the campaign period with the aim of exercising influence over the electorate, providing for a penalty of two to one year in prison, increased by up to half when committed through the internet or social networks.
The rule provides for a penalty of two to one year in prison, increased by up to half when committed through the internet or social networks.
The candidate's petition stated that the volume of interactions "produced an invaluable impact on the evangelical and Catholic electorate" nine days before the first round. The parliamentary defense argues that the short interval between posts demonstrates the activity of "a coordinated network."
The petition mentions 29 profiles and public figures accused of promoting the narrative on social media. Among those named are Rogério Correia (PT-MG), the government's vice-leader in the Chamber of Deputies, federal deputies Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ) and Jean Wyllys (PT-SP), state deputy Lohanna França (PV-MG), federal deputy Chico Vigilante (PT-DF), and humorist Antônio Tabet.
In addition to the initiation of an investigative procedure, the defense requested from the PGE the dispatch of letters to Meta and X companies for the provision of registration data, IP addresses, emails, and access phone numbers linked to the profiles mentioned in the last two months.
Origin of the case
The petition presented by Flávio Bolsonaro's legal team to the Electoral Public Ministry (MPE) requests the preventive detention of the servant, the seizure of his electronic devices, and the removal from his public functions.
The defense of the former president's son, jailed for attempted state coup, Jair Bolsonaro, argues that the employee reposted on social network X a message encouraging the continuation of publications on the religious topic, even after clarifications broadcast in the press.
The rumor circulating on social media attributed to Flávio Bolsonaro the authorship of a proposal to change the title of patroness of Brazil granted to Our Lady of Aparecida.The false rumor circulating on social media claimed that Flávio Bolsonaro was behind a proposal to alter the title of patroness of Brazil, granted to Our Lady of Aparecida.The publications, in fact, referred to a bill presented in 2007 by former congressman Professor Victório Galli, which was archived in the Chamber of Deputies in 2008.