The former president is accused of five crimes, including attempted coups.
The Brazilian Supreme Court has ordered former President Jer Bolsonaro to be tried for attempting a coup after failing to win reelection in 2022.
Bolsonaro, the far-right former Army captain who served as Brazilian president from 2019 to 2022, is accused of five crimes, including alleged attempts to vehemently abolish the democratic rule of law. He accused the charges against him of “unfollowed and unfounded.”
On Wednesday, five judges unanimously decided to bring Bolsonaro to justice. If convicted in a predicted court case later this year, Bolsonaro faces a lengthy prison sentence and could potentially quarantine him further. He does not name him a political heir.
In his opening remarks, Judge Alexandre des Moraes, who oversees the case, screened dramatic footage of Bolsonaro supporters who stormed a government building in a violent scene that unfolded just a week after President Louise Inacio Lula da Silva took office in January 2023.
Moraes added that Bolsonaro led the “systematic effort to raise doubts on electronic voting machines” used in Brazil.
Report from Buenos Aires Theresa Beau of Al Jazeera recalls a chaotic and violent scene in January 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed the capital, Brasilia, refusing to accept the inauguration of the new president.
“A week after Lula was sworn in, Brazilian President Bolsonaro saw thousands of supporters raiding the building. There was a scene of chaos in the capital. About 1,500 people were detained,” she said.
The Supreme Court began reviewing charges against Bolsonaro and his closest allies on Tuesday in a session attended by Bolsonaro voluntarily.
In preparation for the Landmark Court hearing, Bolsonaro called for a beachfront rally in Rio de Janeiro and hoped to seize Lula’s declined popularity and pressure parliament to pass a pardon bill in support of him and his imprisoned supporters.
The demonstration, which suggested that some allies could attract more than a million supporters, was widely considered a wash-out after two independent voting companies discovered that only 20,000-30,000 people had appeared.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro continues to insist that he will run for president again next year despite ruling by Brazil’s excellent election courts, despite banning him from running for public office until 2030 in an effort to distrust the country’s voting system.
Bolsonaro’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis also depicts intensive legal scrutiny.
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