Majority of Brazil’s Supreme Court panel accepts coup charge against ex-President Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A majority of a panel of justices of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, in a major step toward Bolsonaro standing trial.

Four justices voted in favor of putting Bolsonaro on trial. The result will be official after all five judges cast their votes.

The three justices said seven other close allies should also stand trial on five counts: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage characterized by violence and a serious threat against the state’s assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.

The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says he’s being politically persecuted.

A lawyer for Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years. When combined with the other charges, it could result in a sentence of decades behind bars.

“Coups kill,” Justice Flávio Dino said when casting his vote. “It doesn’t matter if it happens today, the following month or a few years later.”

Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet on Tuesday said those facing the charges sought to maintain Bolsonaro in power “at all costs,” in a multi-step scheme that accelerated after the far-right politician lost to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the election.

Like in his February indictment of Bolsonaro and 33 others, Gonet said part of the plot included a plan to kill Lula and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who were put under surveillance by the alleged conspirators.

The plan did not go ahead only because at the last minute the accused failed to get the army’s commander on board, Gonet said.

“Frustration overwhelmed the members of the criminal organization who, however, did not give up on the violent seizure of power, not even after the elected president of the republic was sworn in,” Gonet said.

That was a reference to the Jan. 8, 2023, riot, when Bolsonaro’s die-hard supporters stormed and trashed the Supreme Court, presidential palace and Congress in Brasilia a week after Lula took office.

The Supreme Court is analyzing whether to accept the charges against eight of the 34 people Gonet accused of participating in the coup plan.

As well as Bolsonaro, the court will vote on the accusations faced by his running mate during the 2022 election and former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto, ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres and his aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, among others. The court will decide on the fate of the others later.