Prosecutor asks Brazil Supreme Court to find Bolsonaro guilty of coup
Bolsonaro is accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election won by his left-wing opponent, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The prosecution told the court that former army officer Bolsonaro and seven others were guilty of participating in "armed criminal association" and had sought to "violently overthrow the democratic order."
After the defense presents its closing arguments, a five-justice panel will decide the fate of the former president. If found guilty, Bolsonaro and his co-defendants could face up to 40 years in prison.
Bolsonaro says he is the victim of political persecution, echoing Trump's defense when the US president faced criminal charges before his White House return.
"It's not about imprisoning me; they want to eliminate me," he told news site Poder360 on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Bolsonaro tried to overturn his 2022 loss in a plot that only failed because the military did not side with him.
Violent supporters then rioted, rampaging through government buildings in the capital Brasilia in scenes that echoed the assault on the US Capitol by Trump's supporters after the Republican lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
The trial has attracted attention from Trump, who returned to power in the 2024 election and continues to claim -- despite this being rejected repeatedly by the courts -- that he won in 2020.
Trump has repeatedly called on social media for Bolsonaro's trial to be stopped, accusing the authorities in Brazil of mounting a "witch hunt" and a "disgrace."
On July 9, he took his campaign to extraordinary new levels by announcing plans to tariff Brazilian imports to the United States at 50 per cent.
And on Tuesday, Washington said it was opening an investigation into "unfair trading practices" by Brazil, a move that could provide a legal basis to justify imposing tariffs on South America's largest economy. — AFP
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