The Federal Police investigation into the illegal use of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) by the Jair Bolsonaro government has uncovered a clandestine operation aimed at monitoring and coordinating attacks on Aos Fatos.
On Thursday (11), two former Abin employees and three other individuals involved in the scheme were arrested. The investigation was made public by Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who, according to the Federal Police, was one of those monitored by the criminal organization.
Among the illegally monitored individuals were three other STF ministers, journalists, parliamentarians, and political opponents of then-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
According to the Public Prosecutor's Office (PGR), "clandestine actions targeting opponents and institutions were carried out with the involvement of public officials serving in the Presidency of the Republic."
In addition to monitoring their targets, the group linked to the so-called "parallel Abin" acted to produce and disseminate false content. According to the Federal Police investigation, the group operated to benefit Bolsonaro and his political circle.
The Federal Police identified two officers assigned to Abin who coordinated the illegal information collection, including cell phone espionage software: Federal Police Officer Marcelo Bormevet and Army Sergeant Giancarlo Gomes Rodrigues.
Regarding Aos Fatos, they passed on supposed dossiers to social media account owners to coordinate attacks.
Agência Lupa is also mentioned in the investigations and, according to the Federal Police, was targeted by the same actions.
In documents released on Thursday (11) by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, WhatsApp messages obtained by the Federal Police show Bormevet and Rodrigues discussing which profiles to send information to.
"I am researching these fact-checking agencies that keep criticizing everything the president [Bolsonaro] does," one of them wrote on May 19, 2021, according to the Federal Police report. "I’ve done Aos Fatos and now I’m doing Agência Lupa."
After falsely claiming that two journalists had received emergency aid, one of the Abin officers said, "the guy from the presidency said he would try to bring it up to the president to mention in his live broadcast."
The Federal Police states that "the communication indicates that the illicit products of the parallel structure infiltrated in Abin were intended for use and benefit of the political core, with explicit reference" to then-president Jair Bolsonaro.
