Brazil: Former President Jair Bolsonaro to be tried for ‘attempted coup d'état’

The majority of Brazil's Supreme Court voted Wednesday to send Jair Bolsonaro and his group of collaborators to trial for an "attempted coup d'état."

The former Brazilian president and seven other defendants, including high-ranking military officers and former ministers of his government (2019-2022), were charged by the prosecution for "violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup d'état, involvement in armed criminal organization, qualified damage and deterioration of patrimony."

After the unanimous ruling of the court, composed of judges close to Lula da Silva's cabinet, the Brazilian faces a harsh prison sentence for these crimes.

Details of the case 

The prosecution claims that the 70-year-old right-wing former president led a criminal organization that sought to prevent the investiture of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after losing the election in 2022.

"There is reasonable evidence to support the complaint," said the rapporteur of the case in the Supreme Court, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has pointed out that the former Brazilian president "knew, handled and discussed the draft of the plan."

Bolsonaro, who could face up to 40 years in prison, did not appear in the courtroom of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in Brasilia, and preferred to follow it remotely from his son Flávio Bolsonaro’s office in the Senate, along with other allies.

A court at Lula's service

Judge Moraes, special instructor for the matter at the Supreme Court, has been at the forefront of the statements implicating Bolsonaro.

The alleged plan, includes measures such as the elaboration of a decree to justify a "state of defense" and even the assassination of Lula and of Judge Alexandre de Moraes himself, per the prosecution.

Among the judges who decided to continue the case against the eight people are also Flávio Dino, Lula's former minister, and Cristiano Zanin, the president's former lawyer.

The investigation they present further links Bolsonaro directly to the riots of Jan. 8, 2023, when his supporters entered the headquarters of the three branches of government in Brasília.

The others involved who will go to court

Along with Bolsonaro, seven collaborators are on trial, including former ministers such as Walter Braga Netto (defense) and Anderson Torres (justice), and a former Navy commander.

In this alleged plot outlined by the prosecution in a document containing more than 900 pages, there are a total of 34 defendants.

Bolsonaro's candidacy in jeopardy

The former president, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, aspires to compete in the next election despite being politically disqualified until 2030.

Bolsonaro himself has pointed out that "the motivation is not legal, but political." "The court intends to prevent me from being tried in 2026. ... They want to prevent me from running freely in the elections because they know that, in a fair contest, there is no candidate capable of beating me," referring to the next presidential election in the South American country.

Bolsonaro has also called his persecution and legal process an "attack against democracy."

Moraes, Brazil's most powerful judge

Alexandre de Moraes is considered the second most powerful person in Brazil.

Although he does not have the reach and influence of the president, as a judge of the Supremo Tribunal Federal, Brazil's Supreme Court, and especially as the spearhead of two extensive investigations against opposition groups he accuses of spreading fake news and propagating disinformation, he wields an unusual sum of judicial powers.

Unilaterally, Moraes has ordered arrests, imposed fines, banned social networks, applied all kinds of sanctions, and even acted as both investigator and judge.

Moraes, 55, has used these powers prodigally, several times against members of the right-wing opposition to Lula da Silva's government. Jair Bolsonaro is now his new target.