- Title: File of Jair Bolsonaro as Brazil's top court votes he should stand trial
- Date: 21st November 2024
- Summary: Brazil's far-right presidential frontrunner, Jair Bolsonaro, boarded a plane in Sao Paulo bound for Rio de Janeiro on September 29, 2018, shortly after he was released from the hospital where he had been recovering from a stab wound. SAO PAULO, BRAZIL (FILE – SEPTEMBER 29, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BOLSONARO ON AIRPLANE AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL WITH SUPPORTERS C
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- Keywords: Brazil Crime Jair Bolsonaro Prison court politics
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,South America / Central America
- Reuters ID: LVA009955605092023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will stand trial for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government after he lost a 2022 election, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday (March 26), moving swiftly in a case that could reshape the political landscape.
A five-judge panel decided unanimously to put Bolsonaro on trial. If found guilty in the court proceedings expected later this year, Bolsonaro could face a long prison sentence, isolating the far-right firebrand who has avoided naming a political heir.
In his opening remarks on Wednesday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, screened dramatic footage of Bolsonaro's supporters storming government buildings in violent scenes that unfolded just a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in January 2023.
Moraes cast that insurrection as the result of Bolsonaro's "systematic effort" to discredit the election he lost and then conspire to overturn using violence, with the help of senior military officers and cabinet members.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain who served as Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022, is accused of five crimes, including an attempt to violently abolish the democratic rule of law and a coup d'etat. He has denied any wrongdoing and denounced the case as politically motivated.
The Supreme Court began reviewing charges against Bolsonaro and seven close allies in a Tuesday session he voluntarily attended, sitting silently in the first row in a scene reminiscent of U.S. President Donald Trump's trial last year.
Wednesday's ruling, roughly a month after Brazil's top prosecutor presented charges, reflected an extraordinary pace for a top court that often takes years to decide major cases. The speed reinforced views that the justices are keen to wrap up the trial before the 2026 presidential campaign gets underway.
Bolsonaro has insisted he will run for president again next year, despite a ruling by Brazil's Superior Electoral Court that barred him from running for public office until 2030 for his efforts to discredit the country's voting system.
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