Verdict and sentencing for Brazil’s Bolsonaro is set for early September
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SAO PAULO (AP) — A verdict and sentence in the coup trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be delivered early next month, the country’s Supreme Court announced Friday.
The court said the five-justice panel that heard the right-wing leader’s case will deliver verdicts and sentences on the five counts against him from Sept. 2 to 12.
Bolsonaro, who has drawn the strong support of U.S. President Donald Trump and who remains under house arrest, is accused of leading a conspiracy to stay in office after his narrow election defeat in 2022 to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
Prosecutors say Bolsonaro and several of his allies headed a criminal organization that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the criminal case. Prosecutors have presented message exchanges, handwritten notes and other evidence allegedly detailing the plot.
Defense attorneys have argued that no coup went forward and that Bolsonaro allowed the presidential transition to Lula to take place, undermining any allegations that he tried to thwart that process.
There are two five-justice panels at Brazil’s top court, and Justice de Moraes brought the case to the one he sits on. Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022, appointed two members of the court, but both sit on the other panel.
There are five counts against Bolsonaro issued by the country’s prosecutor-general: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and two counts involving destruction of state property.
The prosecution finished presenting its case in July and the defense wrapped up its arguments this week.
Bolsonaro’s trial has gripped a sharply divided Brazilian public.
It received even more attention after Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally’s judicial situation. Trump has called the proceedings a “ witch hunt ” against a political opponent, triggering nationalist reactions from many Brazilian politicians.
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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america