MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's STF votes to proceed with coup charges against Bolsonaro and others

“We had a very violent coup attempt,” De Moraes stressed

The First Panel (Turma) of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) Wednesday voted unanimously in favor of moving on the the charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven other defendants in connection with the Jan. 8, 2023, riots, which -the prosecution argues- constituted an attempted coup d'état following defeat in the 2022 elections.

Brazil's Attorney General's Office (PGR) said Bolsonaro led a criminal organization aimed at preventing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's inauguration, with potential penalties of up to 40 years in prison. The charges include violent abolition of democratic rule, coup attempts, and involvement in an armed criminal group, stemming from a plot that led to the violent invasion of the Supreme Court, Congress, and Presidency by Bolsonaro supporters in early 2023, shortly after Lula took office.

The conspiracy allegedly involved plans for a “state of defense” decree and even assassination attempts on Lula and STF Justice Alexandre De Moraes, though it failed due to the lack of Army support. Bolsonaro, 70, did not appear in court Wednesday and claims political persecution. Although disenfranchised, he intends to run for president again in 2026.

In Wednesday's ruling, De Moraes and fellow Justice Cármen Lúcia emphasized the severity of the coup attempt, describing it as a well-orchestrated effort to overthrow democracy that began as early as 2021 with disinformation campaigns. In their view, the rebellion failed to succeed due to poor military support, but they nevertheless stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable to protect democratic integrity.

(See also: Brazil's STF reviews possible charges against Bolsonaro and others for Jan. 8 riots )

”We had a very violent coup attempt (...) a savage violence, with a request for military intervention for a coup,“ De Moraes said when casting his vote. ”The criminal organization followed all the necessary steps to overthrow the legitimately elected government“ in an objective that ”did not materialize“ due to ”the resistance of the Army and Air Force commanders to the emergency measures,“ he also explained. He also argued that the conspiracy began in 2021 by spreading fake news ”about the Brazilian electoral system.“

Lucia, the only woman on the STF, quoted historian Heloisa Starling when she affirmed that ”a coup d'état is not done in a day“ and said that this type of movement ”does not end in a week, nor in a month.“ She also maintained that the attempted coup was the result of a long and articulated process and the ”attempt to kill democracy is a fact.“ Those who perpetrated the destruction were not in Brasilia ”on vacation,“ she further noted. ”The coup did not succeed; otherwise, we would not be here,“ she insisted. ”Dictatorship lives on death, not only of society and democracy, but of human beings of flesh and blood,” she stressed.