Brazil’s Federal Police raided the house of Carlos Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, on Monday morning as part of a broader probe into illegal espionage activities allegedly committed during his father’s presidency.
The police burst into the home and office of Carlos, Bolsonaro’s second eldest son and a Rio de Janeiro city councilman, by order of Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister and “anti-fake news crusader” Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading the broader investigation.
The probe that prompted the raid, named “Operation Close Surveillance” by the Brazilian Federal Police, seeks to determine the alleged involvement of Carlos Bolsonaro in a purported scheme carried out by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) during his father’s presidency to carry out illegal espionage activities under a “parallel ABIN” structure. Carlos Bolsonaro stands accused of illegally obtaining intelligence through the alleged operation.
“In this new stage, the Federal Police seek to advance in the political core, identifying the main recipients and beneficiaries of information produced illegally within the scope of Abin, through clandestine actions,” the official police statement reads. “In these actions, investigation techniques specific to the judicial police were used, without, however, any judicial or Public Ministry control.”
The raid on Carlos Bolsonaro’s home Monday took place after de Moraes ordered a raid on Alexandre Ramagem, who served as Jair Bolsonaro’s former spy chief and is a current member of the Brazilian Congress, as part of the same investigation. The police executed another seven warrants on Monday.
President of the Supreme Electoral Court, Minister Alexandre de Moraes (Gustavo Moreno/AP)
The purported “parallel” ABIN structure allegedly conducted espionage activities in favor of Jair Bolsonaro on “targets and public authorities with the aim of creating false narratives” through the use of an Israeli-made software known as “First Mile.”
A source from the Brazilian police told Reuters that Carlos Bolsonaro is suspected of having used data obtained with the Israeli espionage software “possibly” to “feed fake news” against his father’s political opponents.
Initially, Brazil’s GloboNews reported that a computer allegedly belonging to the Brazilian intelligence service was found and seized during the house raid. GloboNews later clarified in the same report that the Federal Police denied such a discovery.
Brazilian entrepreneur Fabio Wajngarten, acting as spokesman for the Bolsonaro family, denied the existence and discovery of the mentioned computer through social media. Wajngarten also stated that Jair Bolsonaro, who was present in the raided house a day prior to record a live broadcast with his sons, departed the premises with his sons and friends to go fishing hours before the raid took place.
Neither Carlos Bolsonaro, nor his father Jair, nor any of the former president’s other sons, have issued any public statement at press time.
De Moraes, the Supreme Court justice, is notorious for issuing censorship rulings against then-President Bolsonaro during the 2022 presidential campaign that favored socialist current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. De Moraes also ordered multiple police raids against lawmakers, comedians, content creators, and regular Brazilian citizens who expressed support for Bolsonaro during his presidency (2019-2022).
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) — of which de Moraes is also a member — banned Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030 for allegedly spreading “misinformation” about Brazil’s electoral voting machines in an official encounter with foreign ambassadors in July 2022.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
