The information was released by Intercept Brazil, received by sources involved in the investigation. Lessa’s plea agreement, who has been in prison since 2019, still needs to be approved by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). This is because Brazão has a privileged forum.
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In 2019, Brazão, who was affiliated with the MDB, was considered suspected of having been involved in the crime, which took place on March 14, 2018. He was formally accused of obstructing investigations into the case by the Attorney General’s Office. Previously, he was investigated by the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco) of the Rio Public Ministry, the Federal Police and the Capital Homicide Police Station (DHC), but no evidence of involvement was found.
Brazão’s lawyer, Márcio Palmahe told the Intercept Brazil that he does not know the information and that he only knows about the case through the press, because, as Brazão was not being investigated, the request for access to the files was denied. Domingos Brazão has previously denied to the press that he was involved in the crime.
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According to information from the portal, Brazão ordered the murder as a form of revenge against the former state deputy Marcelo Freixo. When he was a deputy, Brazão and Freixo entered into disputes in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj). Marielle worked with him for 10 years before being elected in 2016.
Among the conflicts would be the fact that Brazão’s name appeared in the final report of the CPI das Milícias, chaired in 2008 by Freixo. Brazão was mentioned as one of the parliamentarians released to campaign in Rio das Pedras.
When there were debates about the federalization of investigations into the deaths of Marielle and Anderson, in May 2020, this hypothesis had already been raised by the minister Laurita Vaz, from the STJ. The minister stated that the Public Ministry and the Civil Police of Rio worked with this hypothesis.
The minister’s report says: “The possibility is considered that Brazão may have acted out of revenge, considering the intervention of the then deputy Marcelo Freixo in the actions brought by the Federal Public Ministry, which culminated in his removal from the position of Counselor of the State Court of Auditors. from Rio de Janeiro.”
In the document, Vaz also states that “intelligence information contributed to the belief that councilor Marielle Franco was engaged in this movement contrary to the MDB, given her close proximity to Marcelo Freixo”.
On the 11th, the Intercept Brazil also stated that the Public Ministry re-analyzed documents from the investigation related to the militia in Rio das Pedras. There are suspicions that the group is related to the Brazão family, an influential political group in Rio led by Domingos.
On her Twitter profile, Marielle’s sister and Minister of Racial Equality Anielle Franco spoke about the news, stating that getting an answer to the crime is “the duty of the Brazilian State”.
“I received the latest news related to the Marielle and Anderson case and I reaffirm what we have been saying since they took her from us: we will not rest until there is justice. Our family awaits the official announcements and results of the investigations and is aware of the authorities’ commitment to resolution of the case,” he wrote.
The councilor Monica Benicio, Marielle’s widow, stated in an interview with Uol that she sees Ronnie Lessa’s plea “with hope, but without excessive optimism”. “Marielle and Anderson deserve respect and a responsible outcome to the investigations. Brazil and democracy need a serious, unquestionable response, committed to the truth. Everyone involved in this barbaric crime that shook our country’s democracy must be held accountable with the strictness of the law. We will continue demanding answers until #JusticeForMarielleeAnderson is done”, he wrote when posting an excerpt from the interview.