Two Brazilian Supreme Court justices on Tuesday voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro of leading a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election, as they cast the first votes in the final phase of the ex-president’s trial.
The five-judge panel is now one vote away from a majority convicting Bolsonaro of orchestrating an attempted coup to remain in power after his 2022 electoral defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The charges stem from a federal police investigation that uncovered the alleged plot, including plans to poison Lula and his running mate.
Bolsonaro stands accused of taking part in an armed criminal organisation, attempting to violently abolish democracy, organising a coup, and damaging government property and protected cultural assets.
His lawyers have maintained his innocence on all counts.
The charges are tied to Bolsonaro’s alleged incitement of riots in January 2023, when thousands of his supporters stormed and ransacked the Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasilia, the capital.
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