Accused of attempting a coup, Bolsonaro speaks of a "legal attack on democracy"

247 - Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) reacted with attacks to the unanimous decision of the First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), which on Wednesday (26) accepted the complaint from the Attorney General's Office (PGR) and made him a defendant for crimes related to an alleged attempted coup d'état. In a publication made on the social network X, according to the MetropolisBolsonaro accused the Judiciary of acting with bias and stated that the trial represents "a kind of legal attack on democracy."

“Everyone knows that what is underway is, in fact, a kind of legal attack on democracy: a political trial, conducted in a biased, prejudiced and openly unfair manner by a completely compromised and suspect rapporteur,” Bolsonaro wrote, referring to Minister Alexandre de Moraes. He further stated that the process aims to remove him from the electoral race, at the cost of “personal revenge.”

The demonstration took place shortly after the conclusion of the Supreme Court's panel vote, which decided by 5 votes to 0 to indict Bolsonaro and seven other allies. In addition to Moraes, Justices Flávio Dino, Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia, and Cristiano Zanin voted in favor of opening criminal proceedings.

The Attorney General's Office indictment accuses the group of forming an armed criminal organization and orchestrating a coup plot to keep Bolsonaro in power even after his defeat in the 2022 elections. The alleged crimes include coup d'état, attempted abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage through violence, serious threat to federal property, and deterioration of listed heritage sites.

Bolsonaro's lawyer, Celso Vilardi, according to the newspaper. The GlobeHe declared that he will prove the former president's innocence and criticized the conduct of the trial. "We will prove his innocence, but we need to have the freedom to defend ourselves. We hope to have the full opportunity for a defense. The game is only just beginning," he stated.

Vilardi also defended the position of Minister Luiz Fux, who, according to him, had an "absolutely correct stance on the two offenses," when addressing the crimes of attempted coup. In his argument, the lawyer said that the Attorney General's accusation is based solely on the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro's former aide-de-camp, whose validity would be compromised by contradictions.

“Former President Bolsonaro is the most investigated president in the country's history. Absolutely nothing was found,” Vilardi claimed, denying any involvement of his client in the coup attempts of January 8th. According to him, the accusation ignores the absence of “serious threat” in Bolsonaro's pronouncements and disregards the fact that the Federal Police did not point to the former president's direct participation in the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Branches of Government.

The lawyer also criticized the fact that the trial took place in the First Chamber of the Supreme Court, and not in the full court.

During the reading of the report, Minister Alexandre de Moraes refuted the main allegations of the defense and highlighted that the Attorney General's complaint describes "successive and coordinated maneuvers" to undermine constitutional powers and incite violence against institutions.

Among the preliminary arguments rejected by the rapporteur were the allegation of "document dump"—an excess of documents in the process—and "probative fishing," a reference to investigations that seek data before there is solid evidence. Moraes also rejected the attempt to annul Mauro Cid's plea bargain.

Brazil's Attorney General, Paulo Gonet, reinforced Bolsonaro's leading role in the alleged criminal organization. "Starting in 2021, the former president delivered speeches in which he adopted a tone of institutional rupture," he stated. According to Gonet, the group sought to guarantee Bolsonaro's continued hold on power regardless of the election results.