(AP): Brazil’s chief prosecutor has called for a guilty verdict in the case of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial accused of leading an alleged coup plot. “The evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls to incite insurrection and the destabilization of the democratic rule of law,” Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet said in a 517-long page document released late on Monday.
Bolsonaro is accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election in which he was defeated by a left-wing rival. “All the accusations are false. I never violated democracy or the constitution,” Bolsonaro said on X hours before Gonet submitted his final allegations. He said the trial was a “witch hunt,” echoing a term used by US President Donald Trump when he came to his South American ally’s defense last week.
The prosecution accuses Bolsonaro of leading an armed criminal organization attempting to stage a coup and attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage. The defense will present its case shortly. Then the panel of Supreme Court justices that opened a trial against the former president will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. Experts expect that to happen in the second half of the year. A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years. A conviction on that and other charges could bring decades behind bars. The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he is the target of political persecution. A lawyer for Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump last week imposed a 50 percent import tax on Brazil directly tying the tariffs to Bolsonaro’s trial. The US president has described Bolsonaro as a “friend” and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020. Trump said that “Brazil is doing a terrible thing in their treatment of Bolsonaro.” He added that Bolsonaro is not guilty of anything except for having fought for the people and compared the Brazilian’s situation to his own.
Gonet formally charged Bolsonaro and 33 others in February in connection with an alleged coup days after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office. Gonet said Bolsonaro’s actions were not limited to a passive stance of resistance to defeat but were a conscious effort to create an environment conducive to violence and a coup. He added that the criminal organization documented almost all of the actions described in the indictment through recordings handwritten notes digital files spreadsheets and exchanges of electronic messages.
The prosecution is also seeking convictions for several close allies of Bolsonaro including his running mate during the 2022 election and former defense minister Walter Braga Netto, ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres, and his aide-de-camp Mauro Cid.
Brazil’s Supreme Court president Justice Luís Roberto Barroso said the US sanctions – a reference to Trump’s tariffs – are based on an inaccurate understanding of events. “For those who didn’t live through a dictatorship or don’t remember one it’s worth remembering: there was a lack of freedom torture forced disappearances the closure of Congress and the persecution of judges. In today’s Brazil no one is persecuted,” Barroso said.
Bolsonaro, a former military officer who was known to express nostalgia for the country’s past dictatorship openly defied Brazil’s judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office. He has been banned by Brazil’s top electoral court from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.
