A 51-year-old Jair Bolsonaro supporter was sentenced to 17 years in prison after an attack on the government district in Brasília.
Jair Bolsonaro waves to his supporters in front of the Liberal Party headquarters. -Eraldo Peres/AP
In the criminal case over the attack by radical supporters of Brazil’s right-wing ex-President Jair Bolsonaro on the government district in the capital Brasília, a first defendant has been sentenced to a long prison sentence. A 51-year-old man must be imprisoned for 17 years, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
For his involvement in the attack on January 8th, he was charged with, among other things, attempting a coup and forming an armed criminal organization. In the first phase of the proceedings, verdicts are to be made against four defendants.
Attack on government headquarters in Brazil: several men in court
Angry Bolsonaro supporters stormed the government district on New Year’s Day a few days after his successor President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office.
They briefly took control of Congress, the seat of government and the Supreme Court. They rioted in offices and boardrooms, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. It was only hours later that the security forces brought the situation back under control.
“It was a Sunday of devastation, the day of shame as I will always call it. A Sunday of destruction of the heritage of the Brazilian people, a devastation caused by a mob that invaded these historic buildings with total disregard for the public interest,” said Judge Rosa Weber when announcing the verdict.
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2023-09-14 18:13:44
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