Court to rule on making Bolsonaro and allies defendants in coup plot

The First Panel of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court will decide on Wednesday (Mar. 26) whether former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven others accused of plotting a coup will face trial.

The collegium will begin the second day of the trial on the complaint filed last month by the Attorney General’s Office against eight of the 34 individuals accused of participating in a criminal organization to undermine democracy between 2021 and early 2023.

The session will start with the vote of the rapporteur, Alexandre de Moraes, followed by the votes of Justices Flávio Dino, Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia, and Cristiano Zanin.

If the majority of justices vote to accept the prosecution’s complaint, Bolsonaro and seven others will become defendants and face criminal charges before the Supreme Court. The charges include armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, damage qualified by violence, serious threat, and deterioration of protected heritage.

Should criminal proceedings be initiated, the defense lawyers will have the opportunity to name witnesses and request the production of new evidence to support their arguments. Once the investigation concludes, a trial will be scheduled, during which the judges will determine whether the former president and the other defendants will be sentenced to prison or acquitted. No trial date has been set yet.

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