MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

De Moraes votes to convict Bolsonaro in coup case

De Moraes was the first to cast his vote, while the other judges were to follow suit

Brazil's Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre De Moraes, who acted as case rapporteur, voted on Tuesday in favor of convicting former President Jair Bolsonaro for masterminding the Jan. 8, 2023, coup attempt through popular riots at the headquarters of all three branches of Government.

De Moraes, who was the first to cast his opinion as the other judges were to follow suit, stated that the attempted coup aimed at keeping Bolsonaro in power, which has already been proven. According to him, the STF was judging whether or not the defendants were involved in this plot.

He began his speech on his vote by highlighting that at least 13 actions proved the organization of a coup “in a logical criminal chronology aiming to obtain the results intended by the criminal organization.”

The leader of this organization, said De Moraes, was Bolsonaro, who put the plot in motion through a ministerial meeting, two live internet broadcasts, an interview, and a speech on Sept. 7 (Brazil’s Independence Day), 2021.

The goal since then was to “restrict and nullify, through serious threats, the Judiciary, in particular the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court, so there would no longer be a system of checks and balances,” De Moraes further noted.

“In addition, a series of enforceable acts was carried out to ensure their perpetuation in power. This political group sought to perpetuate itself in power, either by preventing a new government legitimately elected by the people from taking office or by removing it from power. That, indeed, was a coup d’état,” he continued.

He underscored the speech on Sept. 7, 2021, in which Bolsonaro told thousands of people he would only leave power “dead or arrested,” adding that he would never be arrested.

“The leader of the criminal group makes it clear here – aloud, publicly, to the whole of society – that he would never accept a democratic defeat in the elections, that he would never accept or comply with the will of the people,” Justice De Moraes pointed out.

The rapporteur further stated “there is no doubt” that such threats were criminal and part of Bolsonaro’s coup plan already at that time.

“This is no bar talk. This is not someone by a public swimming pool talking to a friend. This is the president, on September 7, Brazil’s Independence Day, inciting thousands of people against the Supreme Court, against the Judiciary, and against a court authority,” he added.

On Tuesday, the first panel of the STF resumed the trial that could convict Bolsonaro and seven allies for a coup plot that allegedly sought to reverse the results of the 2022 elections.

The defendants are the alleged leaders of the plot and the first group of the accused in the complaint filed by Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet. (Source: Agencia Brasil)