BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s prosecutor-general argued Tuesday that former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies plotted to overthrow democracy through a series of interconnected events aimed at keeping him in power illegally, as the ex-leader's coup trial entered the verdict phase.
The former president is accused of conspiring to stage a coup to stay in power despite losing the 2022 presidential election to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly said the trial is a politically motivated attack on spurious charges.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet pointed to evidence that, after the October 2022 vote, Bolsonaro summoned top Cabinet and military officials to discuss issuing an emergency decree to halt the election result by suspending powers of the electoral court and investigating suspicions of voting fraud.
“It doesn’t take extraordinary intellectual effort to recognize that when the president of the republic and then the defense minister summon the military leadership to present a document formalizing a coup d’état, the criminal process is already underway,” Gonet said.
Gonet argued that the “shocking and grim picture” outlined in the indictment cannot be understood as a “narrative of isolated facts.” He said the plan to keep Bolsonaro in power also involved several other elements, including previous efforts to sow doubt in Brazil's electronic voting system and a riot by Bolsonaro supporters on Jan. 8, 2023, after Lula was inaugurated.
Prosecutors also have alleged that the plot included a plan to kill Lula and one of the Supreme Court justices.
“Failing to criminally repress attempts of this nature, as shown by accounts both here and abroad, strengthens authoritarian impulses. This, therefore, fuels fundamentalism and puts a civilized way of life at risk,” Gonet said.
Bolsonaro's defense has argued that the prosecution's case is undermined by the fact that the emergency decree was never issued and that the ex-leader allowed the transition to Lula to go forward.
Bolsonaro is already banned from elections
Bolsonaro is under house arrest and was not present at the court on Tuesday. His lawyer Celso Vilardi told journalists that was because of Bolsonaro’s ill health.
“I'm following (the trial),” Bolsonaro said in video footage shared on social media, where he appears pacing up and down at his property in Brasilia.
The trial's verdict and sentencing phase started about 9 a.m. local time Tuesday. It wrapped just before 6 p.m., after lawyers for four of Bolsonaro's close allies took the floor.
The court panel has scheduled sessions on five days through Sept. 12 to decide whether Bolsonaro is guilty. Bolsonaro's lawyer is expected to speak Wednesday morning.
“History teaches us that impunity, omission, and cowardice are not options for peace,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes said as the trial commenced.
De Moraes, who is presiding over the case and is considered a foe by Bolsonaro, also said that the role of the Supreme Court is to judge impartially “regardless of threats or legal action, ignoring internal or external pressure.”
That was an indirect swipe at President Donald Trump, who directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally’s judicial situation. Trump has called the proceedings a “witch hunt” against a political opponent, triggering nationalist reactions from many Brazilian politicians.
On Monday night, Bolsonaro's sons Carlos and Jair Renan prayed along with other supporters during a vigil at the condominium where he is serving house arrest.
Outside the home, demonstrators against the ex-president blew up a huge balloon depicting Bolsonaro in prison clothes and got into shouting matches with Bolsonaro supporters. Police intervened and separated the two groups.
Trial arguments wrapped up in August
The former leader was charged with five counts: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and two counts involving destruction of state property.
A guilty verdict on the coup plot charge alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years.
Seven other close allies of Bolsonaro are being tried alongside the former president, including Walter Braga Netto, his former running mate and defense minister, and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, another former defense minister.
Brazil’s top electoral court has already banned Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.
During the coup trial, the prosecution presented handwritten notes, digital files, message exchanges, and spreadsheets that they said were evidence of the conspiracy to keep Bolsonaro in power.
The prosecution finished presenting its case in July and the defense wrapped up its arguments mid-August.
Shortly thereafter, police accused Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo of obstruction of justice, saying the ex-president wanted to flee to Argentina last year and request political asylum.
‘Breaks with tradition of military coups’
Eduardo Bolsonaro moved to the U.S. earlier this year despite holding a seat in Brazil’s Congress and has sought sanctions against de Moraes. The Trump administration imposed sanction on de Moraes in late July, freezing any assets he might have in the U.S.
Authorities see Bolsonaro as a flight risk. In the lead up to the verdict and sentencing phase, the Supreme Court ordered further security measures. On Saturday, De Moraes permitted the inspection of vehicles leaving Bolsonaro’s residence and mandated in-person surveillance of the area surrounding his home.
Lula told journalists in Sao Paulo on Tuesday that he expects the court to issue a judgement based on case records. “No one is judging anyone personally,” he said.
The left-wing president also said that Trump's administration was interfering in Brazil's justice system. “It's unbelievable,” he said. “I'm going to say it again: Trump wasn't elected to be emperor of the world.”
Experts have labeled Bolsonaro’s trial as ‘historic’ and highlighted that it’s the first time high-ranking officials accused of an attempted coup are being subjected to a criminal trial.
A military dictatorship ruled Brazil for more than two decades between 1964 and 1985, an era for which Bolsonaro has expressed nostalgia. The government passed a sweeping Amnesty Law in 1979 and Brazil never prosecuted any of the military officials responsible for the widespread human rights violations during that era.
Brazil’s violent past has yet to be fully reckoned with, but this trial marks a historic departure from impunity, said Lucas Figueiredo, the author of several books about the country's most recent dictatorship.
“History will tell whether it is 100% successful, but what we are seeing today is a movement that breaks with a tradition of military coups,” he said.
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AP photographer Luis Nova contributed to this report.
Eléonore Hughes And Lucas Dumphreys, The Associated Press
