Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday moved toward convicting former President Jair Bolsonaro of plotting to stage a coup after three of the five justices presiding over his trial said he had conspired to cling to office after losing the 2022 election.
Mr. Bolsonaro has been accused of overseeing a vast conspiracy that prosecutors say included plans to overturn the vote and assassinate the election’s winner, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before he took office as president.
Mr. Bolsonaro denies planning a coup or plotting to kill his rival, but admits to studying “ways within the Constitution” to remain in office after losing an election he claimed had been stolen from him.
Still, the verdict will not be final until all five justices have voted and the court declares an official verdict, which could come as early as Thursday afternoon. Mr. Bolsonaro could face more than 40 years in prison. His sentencing is expected to take place on Friday.
By Thursday afternoon, three of the five Supreme Court justices had voted in favor of convicting him of “coup d’état” and the “violent abolition” of democracy.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, opened voting this week with a vote to convict on all charges and a sharp rebuke against claims by Mr. Bolsonaro’s defense that there had never been any conspiracy to hold onto power. “There is no doubt that there was an attempted coup,” he said.
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The post Brazil’s Supreme Court Is On Course to Convict Bolsonaro in Coup Plot appeared first on New York Times.
