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The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been found guilty of thinking a military coup.
The Supreme Court of Brazil has reached the majority of three votes needed to plead guilty. One judge voted to justify him, and another is yet to vote.
The 70-year-old was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at holding him in power after losing the election in 2022 to his left rival Luis Inasio Lula da Silva.
Until the plot was able to attract enough support from the military to move forward, it ended with the storming of government buildings by Bolsonaro’s supporters on January 8, 2023, the judges have found.
The accusations have severe sentences and could add to prison for more than 40 years. The conviction is scheduled for Friday.
Giving the decisive vote, justice Carmen Lucia said on Thursday that Bolsonaro had triggered the “rebels” since January 8, 2023, when thousands of his supporters vandalized the Supreme Court, the Presidential Palace and the Congress.
She found him guilty of all five charges: an attempt to make a coup, a leading armed criminal organization, tried to violence against the elimination of the democratic rule of the law and two more accusations related to the damage of the property during the storming of buildings in Brazil on January 8, 2023.
Bolsonaro has always maintained his innocence and called the witches’ hunting process, claiming to be politically motivated.
His lawyers are expected to file complaints.
If two of five judges in the vote of the Supreme Court vote “not to blame”, its lawyers could request the full Supreme Court – which means all 11 judges – to review the sentence.
Therefore, the vote of the final justice to give his sentence Cristiano Zanin will be followed.
Bolsonaro was not in court for any of the sessions of the last phase of the process.
His lawyers have indicated health reasons for his decision to comply with the production of his home in Brazil. He was stamped in the stomach along the campaign path in 2018 and since then there have been recurrent health problems.
He has been under house arrest since early August after a police report claims that he and his son Eduardo have tried to intervene in the process.
His lawyer was present in court, but left after Justice Lucia declared his client guilty of trying to coup and armed criminal conspiracy, even before he was over to speak.
Bolsonaro’s allegations are not only related to events since January 8, 2023.
Prosecutors said he had begun to think to remain in power long before, proposing to start a coup of military commanders and to sow unfounded doubts about the electoral system.
They also said he knew about a plot plan for the murder of Lula, his vice presidential ruling half and justice of the Supreme Court.
