Trials for Jair Bolsonaro Supporters Begin Over the January 8 Riots

The Supreme Court of Brazil has started the first trial for the defendants during the January 8 riots in Brasilia, where Jair Bolsonaro supporters attempted a coup that mirrored the January 6 Capitol insurrection in the US.

During the January 8 riots, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed several government buildings, including Brazil's Congress and the Supreme Court, in an effort to kick the newly-elected Lula out of office and reinstall Bolsonaro.

The Bolsonaro supporters expected police to side with them as they truly believed that the right-wing "Trump of the Tropics" was the rightful winner. Instead, police and military personnel arrested hundreds of them and raided their campsite.

According to The Brazilian Report, the first four defendants tried are facing several charges, including armed conspiracy, violent disruption of the rule of law, coup d'état, and damage to public property. Several important antiques and artifacts, many of them priceless and bore significant importance to Brazil's history, were damaged and vandalized by the pro-Bolsonaro rioters.

The four initial defendants are Moacir Jose dos Santos, Matheus Lima de Carvalho Lazaro, Thiago De Assis Mathar, and Aecio Lucio Costa Pereira. Lazaro's defense argued that he should not be tried by the Supreme Court while dos Santos's attorney argued that she only entered the presidential palace to escape the tear gas being thrown at them.

So far, 1,390 people have been charged for the January 8 riots and the Brazilian Supreme Court has already accepted charges for 1,345 of them.

Brazil January 8 Riot Defendants Recorded Themselves Calling For a Coup

Pereira, 51, was the first rioter to be tried for January 8, though he denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he was part of a "peaceful demonstration of unarmed people."

However, Pereira was caught by cameras in the Senate while calling for a military coup. He also recorded a video of himself while praising others who had also broken into the Congressional building. Justice Alexandre de Moraes found him guilty of five crimes and ruled that he should be sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Justice Kassio Nunes Marques ruled that he should only be jailed for two crimes and serve two and a half years in prison. His trial was adjourned until Thursday as the justices deliberated his fate, according to the Associated Press.

As for Lazaro, he made a live broadcast of the riot as well. He was also arrested on that same day, and his livestream showed that he expected the army to join their cause and do a "military intervention."

Jair Bolsonaro Denies Any Involvement in the January 8 Riots

When the January 8 riots were happening over in Brasilia, Jair Bolsonaro was in the United States getting medical treatment. Because of this, he washed his hands of any involvement in the plot, according to Al Jazeera News.

Back in April, the former president who was called the "Trump of the Tropics" testified before police and denied he had anything to do with it. However, police still accused him of being involved in the planning effort.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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