What to know about the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro
The case received renewed attention after President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on Brazilian imported goods to Bolsonaro's judicial situation, which Trump called a ' witch hunt.'
The Supreme Court's order for Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor, among other restrictions, came after Federal Police and prosecutors said Bolsonaro is a flight risk. Authorities, listing multiple social media posts, also accused Bolsonaro of working with his son Eduardo to incite the United States to interfere in the trial and impose sanctions against Brazilian officials.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department announced visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, prompting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 's to condemn what he called the unacceptable interference of one country in another's justice system.
Here's what you need to know about Bolsonaro's trial:
The charges against Bolsonaro
The prosecution accuses Bolsonaro of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage, and deterioration of listed heritage sites.
A federal police investigation placed Bolsonaro at the top of a criminal organization that had been active since at least 2021. Police say that after Bolsonaro's loss to Lula, the organization conspired to overturn the election result.
Part of that plot included a plan to kill Lula and a Supreme Court justice, the prosecution alleges. It also says that the Jan. 8 riot when Bolsonaro supporters ransacked top government buildings a week after Lula took office was an attempt to force military intervention and oust the new president.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet says 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.'
In the court order unsealed Friday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro and his son may also have committed the crimes of coercion during a legal proceeding, obstruction of an investigation involving a criminal organization and attack on Brazil's sovereignty.
What Bolsonaro says
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he's the target of political persecution. He has echoed Trump and called the trial a 'witch hunt.'
The far-right former leader has now been barred from using social media, but on Thursday, he said on X that 'those who challenge the system are being punished, silenced, and isolated.'
Regarding the restrictive measures carried out on Friday, Bolsonaro called them a 'supreme humiliation.'
'I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that,' he told journalists in Brasilia.
Next steps
After the prosecution called for a guilty verdict in its final allegations issued Tuesday, the defense will soon present its case, likely in the coming weeks.
The panel of Supreme Court justices that opened the trial against Bolsonaro will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. Experts say a decision is expected before the end of the year.
A guilty verdict on the coup plot charge carries a sentence of up to 12 years, which could, along with guilty verdicts on other charges, bring decades behind bars.
But Antonio José Teixeira Martins, a law professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said Bolsonaro could be detained even before there's a verdict.
'Whether this happens or not depends on how events unfold from now on, that is if these new measures prove sufficient to guarantee public order, the application of criminal law and prevent the risk of escape,' Teixeira Martins said.
Brazil's top electoral court has already banned Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brazil judge puts ex-president Bolsonaro under house arrest
A Brazilian judge on Monday placed former president Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest for breaking a social media ban, escalating a dramatic standoff between the court and the politician, who is accused of plotting a coup. Bolsonaro is on trial at the Supreme Court for allegedly plotting to cling onto power after losing 2022 elections to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. President Donald Trump has sought to punish Brazil, a longtime US ally, for what he sees as a politically motivated "witch hunt" targeting Bolsonaro by imposing eye-watering tariffs on Latin America's biggest economy. The 70-year-old Bolsonaro is banned from social media for the duration of the proceedings, and third parties are barred from sharing his public remarks. But on Sunday, his allies defied the order by sharing footage online of a call between the former army captain and his eldest son Flavio at a solidarity rally in Rio de Janeiro. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes reacted furiously, declaring that the judiciary would not allow a defendant to "treat it like a fool" because of his "political and economic power." Criticizing Bolsonaro's "repeated failure" to comply with the court's restrictions on him during the trial, he placed him under house arrest at his home in the capital Brasilia. He also barred the country's former leader (2019-2022) from receiving visitors, apart from his lawyers, and from using mobile phones, and warned that any new transgression would lead to him being detained. Several mobile phones were seized at his home on Monday, the police said. Washington condemned the new restrictions on Monday night, with the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs issuing a statement on X. "Minister Alexandre de Moraes, already sanctioned by the United States for human rights violations, continues to use Brazilian institutions to silence the opposition and threaten democracy," the bureau posted. "Let Bolsonaro speak!" US officials added that they would "hold accountable all those who collaborate with or facilitate sanctioned conduct." The US post was re-shared by Bolsonaro's politician son Eduardo Bolsonaro, who had successfully lobbied Washington to take punitive action against Brazil over the case. In a separate post, he wrote: "Brazil is no longer a democracy." He called Moraes, who is presiding over Bolsonaro's trial and has styled himself a defender of Brazilian democracy in the face of the far right, an "out-of-control psychopath." Last month, Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet and instituted the social media ban. Trump responded in unprecedented fashion by banning Moraes from the United States and freezing his assets in US banks. - 'Thank you Trump' - Trump's pressure campaign has angered many Brazilians but endeared him to Bolsonaro's conservative base. At rallies in Rio, Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Sunday, some demonstrators waved US flags or held signs reading "Thank you Trump." Bolsonaro himself did not attend the rallies, having been ordered by the Supreme Court to stay home at night and at weekends throughout the trial. Prosecutors say he and seven co-accused tried to overturn his 2022 election defeat in a plot that only failed because the military did not get on board. He faces a 40-year sentence if convicted at the trial, which is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks. Bolsonaro's supporters stormed Brazil's congress in January 2023, after Lula was inaugurated, ransacking the chambers and attacking police, in scenes reminiscent of an attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol two years before. Despite being barred from running, Bolsonaro hopes to mount a Trump-style comeback in Brazil's 2026 presidential election. Lula, 79, has said he may seek a fourth term, health permitting. Last year, he was hospitalized for a brain hemorrhage caused by a bathroom fall. rsr-lg/cb/sla/cdl/abs
Boston Globe
6 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Texas dispute highlights nation's long history of partisan gerrymandering. Is it legal?
Who is responsible for gerrymandering? In many states, like Texas, the state legislature is responsible for drawing congressional districts, subject to the approval or veto of the governor. District maps must be redrawn every 10 years, after each census, to balance the population in districts. But in some states, nothing prevents legislatures from conducting redistricting more often. In an effort to limit gerrymandering, some states have entrusted redistricting to special commissions composed of citizens or bipartisan panels of politicians. Democratic officials in some states with commissions are now talking of trying to sidestep them to counter Republican redistricting in Texas. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up How does a gerrymander work? Advertisement If a political party controls both the legislature and governor's office — or has such a large legislative majority that it can override vetoes — it can effectively draw districts to its advantage. One common method of gerrymandering is for a majority party to draw maps that pack voters who support the opposing party into a few districts, thus allowing the majority party to win a greater number of surrounding districts. Another common method is for the majority party to dilute the power of an opposing party's voters by spreading them among multiple districts. Why is it called gerrymandering? The term dates to 1812, when Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a bill redrawing state Senate districts to benefit the Democratic-Republican Party. Some thought an oddly shaped district looked like a salamander. A newspaper illustration dubbed it 'The Gerry-mander' — a term that later came to describe any district drawn for political advantage. Gerry lost re-election as governor in 1812 but won election that same year as vice president with President James Madison. Advertisement Is political gerrymandering illegal? Not under the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court, in a 2019 case originating from North Carolina, ruled that federal courts have no authority to decide whether partisan gerrymandering goes too far. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: 'The Constitution supplies no objective measure for assessing whether a districting map treats a political party fairly.' The Supreme Court noted that partisan gerrymandering claims could continue to be decided in state courts under their own constitutions and laws. But some state courts, including North Carolina's highest court, have ruled that they also have no authority to decide partisan gerrymandering claims. Are there any limits on redistricting? Yes. Though it's difficult to challenge legislative districts on political grounds, the Supreme Court has upheld challenges on racial grounds. In a 2023 case from Alabama, the high court said the congressional districts drawn by the state's Republican-led Legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of Black residents. The court let a similar claim proceed in Louisiana. Both states subsequently redrew their districts. What does data show about gerrymandering? Statisticians and political scientists have developed a variety of ways to try to quantify the partisan advantage that may be attributable to gerrymandering. Republicans, who control redistricting in more states than Democrats, used the 2010 census data to create a strong gerrymander. An Associated Press analysis of that decade's redistricting found that Republicans enjoyed a greater political advantage in more states than either party had in the past 50 years. Advertisement But Democrats responded to match Republican gerrymandering after the 2020 census. The adoption of redistricting commissions also limited gerrymandering in some states. An AP analysis of the 2022 elections — the first under new maps — found that Republicans won just one more U.S. House seat than would have been expected based on the average share of the vote they received nationwide. That was one of the most politically balanced outcomes in years.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man acquitted of murder to be re-tried on manslaughter charge
A man who was found not guilty of murdering a Blackburn dad over Christmas will face a re-trial on a manslaughter charge later this year. James Ward, 26, was found not guilty of murdering Kirk Marsden alongside co-defendants Michael O'Neill, 35, and Thomas Ward, 58, following a trial at Preston Crown Court in June. Mr O'Neill and Thomas Ward were also found not guilty of manslaughter, but the jury were unable to agree on a verdict on this charge in respect of James Ward. He was remanded back into custody following the conclusion of that trial while a decision was made about a re-trial. The Crown Prosecution Service has now confirmed to the Lancashire Telegraph that a re-trial is scheduled for November 17. READ MORE: Teenager arrested and charged after boy 'stabbed in leg' at bus station READ MORE: Lorry driver denies dangerous driving and other driving offences Mr Marsden, 37, died on Boxing Day at Royal Preston Hospital, having been struck by a car, driven by James Ward, 26, outside The Gate Bar and Grill in Moorgate Street on Christmas Day last year. Mr Marsden suffered fractures to his spine, pelvis, and ribs, as well as heavy internal bleeding, after being run down by the silver Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle. The previous trial heard that James Ward was behind the wheel of the car at the time it struck Mr Marsden. James Ward's defence was that he swerved to avoid an object that was thrown towards the car, and he did not see Mr Marsden in the road. Thomas Ward was in the back of the car while Michael O'Neill was not in the car at the time of the impact. The trial will again be heard at Preston Crown Court.
