Brazil: first judge in Jair Bolsonaro coup plot trial votes to convict

"Jair Bolsonaro led a criminal organization that sought to plunge Brazil back into dictatorship with a murderous power grab involving special forces assassins and a massive disinformation campaign, the supreme court judge presiding over the former president's trial has claimed as he voted for Bolsonaro's conviction. Alexandre de Moraes announced his decision on Tuesday as the trial of Bolsonaro and seven alleged co-conspirators including four senior members of the military and the former head of Brazil's answer to MI6 entered its final stretch."

"The defendant, Jair Bolsonaro, was leader of this criminal structure, the judge told a courtroom in the capital, Brasilia, during a five-hour speech detailing what he called Bolsonaro's authoritarian project. Bolsonaro has denied involvement in a coup plot. But Moraes said there was ample evidence that the far-right populist, who governed the South American country from 2019 until the end of 2022, had tried to cling to power after losing that year's election to his leftwing rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva."

"Brazil nearly went back to being a dictatorship because a criminal organization made up of a political group doesn't know how to lose elections. Because a criminal organization made up of a political group led by Jair Bolsonaro doesn't understand that the alternation of power is a principle of republican democracy, Moraes told the court. Four other supreme court justices are due to cast their votes over the coming days, with Bolsonaro's conviction widely considered a foregone conclusion."

Supreme court judge Alexandre de Moraes declared Jair Bolsonaro the leader of a criminal organization that sought to return Brazil to dictatorship through a murderous power grab, special forces assassins and a vast disinformation campaign. The trial involves Bolsonaro and seven alleged co-conspirators, including four senior military members and the former head of Brazil's external intelligence. Moraes described an authoritarian project and said ample evidence shows Bolsonaro tried to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Charges include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting a coup, carrying up to 43 years. A verdict is expected by Thursday or Friday.

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