Brazil: Prosecutor Demands Jail for Jair Bolsonaro as 'Coup' Trial Ends

Prosecutor General of Brazil Paulo Gonet called on Monday for the conviction of conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro during his closing arguments in the ongoing “coup” trial against Bolsonaro.

Gonet delivered his closing arguments to the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) in the late night hours of Monday, presented in a 517-page document in which he reportedly argued that  Bolsonaro led an “armed criminal organization aimed at discrediting the electoral system, inciting attacks on democratic institutions, and articulating exceptional measures.”

Bolsonaro left office in January 2023 after narrowly losing to current radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a highly controversial election the year before. He currently stands accused of conspiring alongside over 30 other individuals to stage a “coup” and overturn the results of the 2022 election. According to the accusations, the purported “coup” also involved plans to poison Lula and attacks against other high-ranking officials.

STF Minister (Justice) Alexandre de Moraes is serving as the trial’s rapporteur. De Moraes, a self-styled “anti-fake news crusader,” has been at the forefront of several judicial actions against Bolsonaro, as well as investigations and censorship campaigns against other Brazilian conservatives and individuals supportive of Bolsonaro.

The STF grouped the accused across several trial groups. Bolsonaro and seven others represented a group identified as the “Core 1,” alleged to have led the plot. Other members of the “Core 1” trial group include Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp and the case’s “whistleblower,” former members of Bolsonaro’s Ministerial cabinet, and other former high-ranking officials.

The former president faces five charges in the trial: armed criminal organization; attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law; attempted coup d’état; qualified damage to federal property; and deterioration of listed property. According to the outlet Metrópoles, Bolsonaro, aged 70, could now face up to 43 years in prison if found guilty of all charges.

Gonet, in his closing arguments to de Moraes, reportedly accused Bolsonaro of being “the main orchestrator, biggest beneficiary, and author of the most serious acts aimed at disrupting the democratic rule of law.” The prosecutor claimed that the former president “manipulated” the Brazilian state apparatus during the exercise of the presidency to maliciously operate a “persistent scheme to attack public institutions and the succession process.”

According to Gonet, Bolsonaro played a “central role” in actions that culminated with the events of January 8, 2023, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the premises of Brazil’s Congress, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, and Planalto presidential palace, causing significant damage to the facilities, furniture, and priceless historical artifacts housed therein. No deaths and only minor injuries were documented during the incident. Bolsonaro was visiting the United States and was not present in Brazil at the time the riots took place.

“There is no denying publicly committed acts, seized plans, documented dialogues, and damaged public property,” Gonet reportedly argued. “Although the defense attempted to minimize the individual contribution of each defendant and seek different interpretations of the facts, these could not be denied.”

Gonet further alleged that Bolsonaro systematically mobilized state agents, resources, and powers “contrary to the public interest, to spread false narratives, provoke social instability, and defend authoritarian measures.”

“The defendant [Bolsonaro] made it clear that he would not submit to constitutional procedure by directly calling on the commanders of the Armed Forces to introduce emergency measures,” he continued. “Disagreement with judicial measures could never serve as a basis for considering authoritarian measures.”

Bolsonaro has maintained his innocence and, in June, he refuted the accusations during his testimony to the court, denying ever having led any coup plot or having knowledge of plans of such nature.

“For my part, there was never any talk of a coup. A coup is abominable. A coup would not even be easy to start. The aftermath is unpredictable and harmful to everyone. Brazil could not go through such an experience. The possibility of a coup in my government was never even considered,” Bolsonaro said in June.

According to local outlets, Bolsonaro’s defense team and all other defendants now have 15 consecutive days to respond to the court with closing arguments, after which the STF will set a trial date when the court’s first panel will analyze the situation of each defendant individually and issue a ruling by majority vote.

Last week, President Donald Trump expressed support for Bolsonaro amid the ongoing trial and in the face of all the other judicial proceedings he has faced since leaving office in 2023. President Trump accused the Brazilian judiciary of doing a “terrible thing.”

Days later, Trump cited the “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro as one of the reasons for the imposition of a 50-percent tariff on Brazilian goods entering the United States, which will go into effect on August 1. President Lula da Silva has threatened to retaliate with reciprocal tariffs once they go into effect in August.

STF President Luís Roberto Barroso also responded to the upcoming tariffs in a public letter in which he, without directly mentioning Trump, claimed that the tariffs are based on an “inaccurate understanding” of Brazilian reality and justified the ongoing trial against Bolsonaro, asserting that “no one is persecuted” in Brazil.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.