Brazil’s Supreme Court justices are currently deliberating whether to convict defendants accused of forcefully attempting to reinstate former President Jair Bolsonaro by storming government offices on January 8th.
Aecio Lucio Costa Pereira, a supporter of Bolsonaro, was the first defendant in line for the trial. In January, Pereira was caught on camera wearing a shirt advocating for a military coup and recording a video praising others who had also broken into the building. While almost 1,500 individuals were detained on the day of the riots, most have since been released.
Pereira has denied any wrongdoing and claims that he participated in a peaceful demonstration of unarmed individuals.
The first two justices to rule on the alleged crimes had different opinions, but both found the supporter of the former president guilty. Brazil’s Supreme Court has a total of 11 justices.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur of the case on Brazil’s Supreme Court, has ruled that Pereira is guilty of five crimes and sentenced him to 17 years in jail. Another justice, Kassio Nunes Marques, ruled that Pereira should be jailed for two crimes, resulting in a sentence of 2 years and 6 months. Nunes Marques, who was chosen by Bolsonaro to join Brazil’s top court, stated that there is insufficient evidence to convict Pereira of the crimes of criminal association, launching a coup d’état, or violent attack on the rule of law.
The trial has been adjourned until Thursday, and Pereira’s final sentence will depend on the votes of the remaining nine justices who have yet to cast their votes. Three other defendants are also being tried as part of the same case but their final decisions may take several days.
The pro-Bolsonaro rioters vandalized the buildings of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace. They breached security barricades, climbed onto roofs, smashed windows, and invaded all three buildings, which were mostly unoccupied during the weekend of the incident.
Lula, the leftist who defeated Bolsonaro in a closely contested election, has accused Bolsonaro of inciting the uprising.
This incident bears similarities to the January 6th, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Politicians had warned for months that a similar uprising was possible in Brazil, as Bolsonaro had cast doubt on the
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