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Brazil's Supreme Court has ruled that Jair Bolsonaro must stand trial for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The former president is among 34 people charged last month with crimes including attempting a coup, with prosecutors alleging a plan to potentially assassinate President Lula, his vice president, and a Supreme Court minister. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
The court on Wednesday decided unanimously to fully accept the charges against eight of the accused, including Bolsonaro, his vice presidential candidate and other military and political leaders.
The court will decide the fates of the other 26 people later on.
As the deciding votes were being cast on Wednesday, Bolsonaro posted a message on X, criticizing the judges for moving forward with the case so quickly.
“Everyone says that the process will be concluded by the end of 2025, even though there is no precedent for such speed in a case of this magnitude. And why? Because everyone knows that what is taking place is, in fact, a kind of legal attack on democracy: a political trial, conducted in a partial, biased and openly unfair manner by a completely compromised and suspicious rapporteur,” he said, referring to Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who was the first to vote in favor of accepting the charges in full.
Moraes presented video evidence of the alleged crimes in his opening remarks on Wednesday, saying they were material and serious.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet had argued before the court on Tuesday, the first day of proceedings, that there was enough evidence to move the case to a trial. He claimed that the accused had formed a criminal organization to “generate reactions that would guarantee their continuity in power,” regardless of the result of the 2022 election.
Gonet alleged that the coup attempt began in 2021, during Bolsonaro’s presidential term, and culminated in the riots of January 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalized the three seats of government in Brasilia to reject the 2022 election results.
The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. His lawyer Celso Vilardi argued that there is no evidence his client was involved in the Brasilia riots.
Bolsonaro, who attended Tuesday’s court session, had told reporters earlier that he expected justice in the case.
If found guilty, Bolsonaro could potentially face up to 28 years in prison, according to CNN Brasil.
