Cowardice operates in the shadows

“Cowardice operates in the shadows, through secret processes and the clandestine inquiries of the Supreme Federal Court.”

(Marcel van Hattem)

This was just one of the brave and necessary statements made by Deputy Marcel van Hattem (NOVO-RS) during a hearing of the Public Security Commission of the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, December 3rd. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, and the Director-General of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues.

During the session, Van Hattem also claimed to be facing political persecution after being indicted on November 25th. This formal accusation stemmed from his previous denunciation in the plenary, where he displayed a photo of Federal Police delegate Fábio Shor, accusing him of “producing fraudulent reports” against Filipe Martins, a former advisor for international affairs to Jair Bolsonaro.

At the time, the Federal Police (PF) alleged that Shor had been slandered, prompting the accusation of supposed crimes of slander and defamation against the parliamentarian. In November, Van Hattem responded to the indictment by stating, “I have been indicted by Lula’s police for denouncing, from the Chamber’s tribune, a delegate from this same PF. How far will these abuses against the laws and the Constitution of Brazil go? I will not bow down!”

Also in November, the deputy pointed out an inversion of the roles of the Federal Police, which should have been investigating his allegations rather than investigating him as the whistleblower. “I made a very serious accusation about the activities of a Federal Police officer, Fábio Shor, and what happened was retaliation from the very corporation, which decided to investigate and indict me.”

In the heated meeting on Tuesday, Van Hattem challenged the Director-General of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, to arrest him during the session: “If there is an understanding that I am committing a crime against honor, why doesn’t Director-General Andrei, who is here, arrest me now, in flagrante delicto? If it’s a crime against honor, arrest me.” The deputy then displayed the photo of delegate Fábio Shor once more, declaring that he was being indicted for “calling a bandit a bandit” and that “there will be consequences for what this delegate is doing today.” In another bold moment, Van Hattem added, “When the Federal Police indicts a parliamentarian, it is indicting the Brazilian people.”

Minister Lewandowski defended the PF director, asserting that “crimes against honor” are not protected by parliamentary immunity.

However, according to article 53 of the Federal Constitution, of the Union’s Legislative Branch cannot be charged, either civilly or criminally, for their opinions, words, and votes. Few sections of our fragmented Constitution are as clear and objective as this one.

The text does not allow exceptions to the speech immunity of deputies and senators of the Republic, making it clear that Lewandowski, as the current head of the Federal Police, serves only Lula’s political agenda, ignoring the Constitution. Regarding parliamentary immunity, it seems we have regressed to when Getúlio Vargas was president, or the Institutional Act No. 5 was in force.

The constitutional turmoil now involving the persecution of Deputy Marcel van Hattem is, in fact, a segment of another grave and absurd persecution in our relative democracy—that of Filipe Martins. And now, the two are linked by one name: Fábio Alvarez Shor.

Alexandre de Moraes ordered the arrest of Filipe Martins by the Federal Police in February 2024 based on inconsistent documents claiming he had left Brazil for the United States in December 2022. The justice ordered Filipe’s imprisonment based on a poorly crafted report by delegate Fábio Shor, which relied on an informal and unconfirmed preliminary enger list from a presidential flight found in an editable Microsoft Word document. Shor fueled the “flight-risk” narrative, although Martins was under no travel restrictions at the time.

Despite extensive documentation proving that Filipe Martins had not left Brazil—including cell phone geolocation data, Uber ride records, credit card statements, delivery receipts, domestic flight itineraries, and numerous witness testimonies—his detention continued. Shortly after his arrest, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) requested his release, arguing there was no evidence that Martins had attempted to leave the country during the period in question.

Fábio Shor responded to the PGR with the argument that Filipe Martins had few clothes in his home and that the city of Ponta Grossa, located near the state of Paraná coast, was only a few kilometers from the border. Shor included in the inquiry the infamous Travel History, a document that appeared in the process and in the column by Guilherme Amado, former journalist for Metrópoles, which, according to American authorities, cannot be used for legal purposes.

Martins then decided to hire American lawyers to clarify his immigration status. U.S. border authorities confirmed twice that there was no record of his entry in December 2022—his last entry being in September 2022—to attend the UN General Assembly. Shortly after, Brazilian media outlets also reported that U.S. Customs in Orlando had officially confirmed that Martins had not entered the U.S. in December 2022.

And here begins a strange saga. Very strange

After these confirmations, a suspicious entry record appeared in the system, claiming that Martins had entered Orlando on December 30, 2022. This record contained multiple anomalies: it included a misspelled name, referenced a previously lost port, canceled by Martins, and listed a nonexistent visa. When Martins’ lawyers pointed out these inconsistencies to U.S. authorities, the agency, instead of investigating, simply “corrected” the data to retroactively generate a record of an entry that never occurred.

Curiously, this record appeared in the same week when a delegation from the Brazilian Federal Police, under the command of Fábio Shor and acting under orders from Justice Alexandre de Moraes, traveled to the U.S. to investigate the cases of Jair Bolsonaro’s jewels and vaccination card.

While these developments unfolded in the U.S., Martins remained detained in Brazil under inhumane conditions, subjected to intense pressure to provide information and statements that could implicate former President Bolsonaro. However, when U.S. media outlets began investigating the situation and questioning the origins of this fraudulent entry record, it was quickly removed from the border police files, raising further doubts about the integrity of the process and the motives behind the case.

During this period, Filipe’s lawyers in the U.S. also filed a complaint with the FBI. According to recent information, the investigation is ongoing and is now closely monitored by American deputies and senators, including parliamentarians who will play a prominent role in the future Trump istration, such as future Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The case is also being treated as a national security alert for the United States of America due to the falsification of immigration documents.

Using forged documents or tampering with immigration documents is a federal crime in the U.S. under law 18 U.S.C. § 1546 – Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents: this includes making forged immigration documents, or using, possessing, or receiving them—and can result in sentences of 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment, if it is a first offense without intent to commit any other crime, and a fine of $250,000.

On August 9th, following Filipe’s release, who remains under strict precautionary measures like house arrest and the use of an ankle monitor, Marcel van Hattem took to the Chamber of Deputies’ tribune to denounce the abuses committed by Fábio Shor, highlighting the political nature of Martins’ imprisonment and raising concerns about possible fraud in U.S. entry records. The suspicions of fraud were reported by major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Wire.

Van Hattem denounced the lack of investigation by Fábio Shor, who requested Filipe Martins’ arrest without conducting a single diligence to prove the escape thesis and called for an independent investigation into human rights violations and other possible crimes related to the case.

Who is Fábio Alvarez Shor?

Fábio Alvarez Shor began his career as a Federal Police delegate a few years ago, when he graduated the institution’s program in 2017. After a meteoric rise, his name today figures among the most controversial in the national political scenario.

Despite his short career as a delegate, his performance in high-profile inquiries, often shrouded in controversy and accusations of abuse of power, raises serious questions about his impartiality and the real agenda behind his meteoric rise. Sources in the Federal Police report that even before becoming a delegate, Shor, still an agent of the corporation, developed a penchant for intelligence and counter-intelligence operations. According to colleagues, he showed great interest in confidential investigations, making him a constant figure in operations of this nature. While this expertise is useful in certain contexts, it became questionable when Shor took on a leading role in politically sensitive investigations.

Operation Spoofing and the Destruction of Operation Car Wash

Early in his years as a delegate, Shor was responsible for significant operations, such as Operation Spoofing, which investigated the hacker attack known as Vaza-Jato (roughly meaning Operation Car Wash Leaks). This attack compromised judges, prosecutors, and delegates and served as the basis for dismantling Operation Car Wash. Shor’s actions in this case were instrumental in the legal narrative that led to Lula’s release from prison, exposing a strange convergence of interests that ultimately dismantled one of the largest anti-corruption efforts in Brazil’s history.

Proximity to Alexandre de Moraes and the Ex Officio Inquiries

Starting in 2020, Fábio Shor began collaborating with delegate Denisse Ribeiro in inquiries initiated directly by Alexandre de Moraes in the Supreme Federal Court (STF), a controversial practice widely criticized by jurists. These inquiries, conducted without formal charges or requests from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, were marked by arbitrary actions and targeted persecutions against opponents of the STF.

Shor gained more prominence in 2021, replacing Denisse Ribeiro in important hearings. In September of that year, he participated in the interrogation of Jason Miller, Donald Trump’s communication coordinator, who was controversially detained along with two other American citizens at the Brasília Airport. This temporary detention, with an evident political character, was a harbinger of what would be Shor’s escalation in commanding these inquiries.

When Denisse went on maternity leave in 2022, Shor fully undertook the investigations, intensifying actions against conservatives and ers of Jair Bolsonaro. In one of his most controversial operations, search and seizure warrants targeted Luciano Hang and other businessmen ing Bolsonaro, based solely on WhatsApp messages exposed by journalist Guilherme Amado.

Reaction

In September 2022, a group of 131 retired Federal Police delegates requested the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to investigate Justice Alexandre de Moraes for alleged abuse of authority. The motivation was precisely the police operation targeting businessmen ers of then-President Jair Bolsonaro on the eve of September 7th. In this action, electronic equipment seizures and bank secrecy breaches of those involved were ordered.

In the criminal complaint presented by the retired Federal Police delegates, Fábio Shor was mentioned as a central figure in this operation, which was authorized by Moraes following Shor’s request and had no participation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The retired delegates expressed severe criticism of Shor’s actions, pointing out that he had exceeded the limits of his function by presenting the request that ed Moraes’ decisions. They stated that his handling of the case, as well as the justice’s decision, was marked by “unbelievable” justifications, which, according to them, constituted both judicial and investigative abuse.

Mentioning Shor, the signatories of the criminal complaint highlighted a pattern they classified as concerning: the use of police investigations for political purposes, something that would compromise the impartiality and technical role of the Federal Police. Additionally, they raised doubts about the foundation of the accusations against the businessmen, suggesting that the police actions might have been more motivated by ideological alignment than by concrete evidence of crimes.

Trump Effect?

Many are questioning the speed and ferocity instilled in recent weeks by the current Federal Police under Lewandowski and delegates like Fábio Shor against Deputy Marcel van Hattem.

Van Hattem, in the fulfillment ofhis duty as an elected representative of the Brazilian people, exposed Fábio Shor’s solely political nature, clearly pointing out in plenary the atrocities committed against Filipe Martins. In the face of the now orchestrated aggression against the deputy, a question arises: could the fact that Van Hattem has become one of the most important links between the Brazilian Parliament and the American Congress have intensified Shor’s fury? Is Lewandowski and Shor’s Federal Police apprehensive about January 20th, when Donald Trump takes over the White House?

Marcel van Hattem and American journalist Michael Shellenberger led significant representations on American soil, warning the world that Brazil is today under the totalitarian regime of Alexandre de Moraes and his accomplices. Armed with the revealed files of the censorship imposed by Moraes in Brazil, also known as “Twitter Files Brazil,” Van Hattem and Shellenberger helped the U.S. House of Representatives produce a 541-page document that exposed the guts of some of the largest and most abhorrent censorship and persecution pages in Brazil’s history.

By stating, in front of Brazil’s tyrants, “Cowardice operates in the shadows, in secret processes, in clandestinity,” Marcel van Hattem embodies Aristotle’s maxim that courage is the prime virtue since it is the foundation for all others. Aristotle believed that without courage, it would be impossible to act consistently according to one’s principles or pursue a virtuous life based on truth. Courage, for him, was not reckless bravery, but the balance between fear and confidence, allowing individuals to face challenges for a greater good.

If cowardice operates in the shadows, Marcel van Hattem’s courage has once again been revealed in the disclosure of facts and strength in the face of adversity.

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