Brazil opens first trials over January 8 riots

View of Brazil's high court during the opening trials over the January 8 riots by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's supporters in Brasilia on September 13, 2023. Brazil's high court opened the first trials Wednesday over the January 8 riots in Brasilia by supporters of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who were demanding the ouster of his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. — AFP pic

Wednesday, 13 Sep 2023 11:28 PM MYT

BRASÍLIA, Sept 13 — Brazil's high court opened the first trials today over the January 8 riots in Brasilia by supporters of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who were demanding the ouster of his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The first four accused went on trial before the Supreme Court in the capital, one of the three buildings invaded and ransacked that day by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, along with the presidential palace and Congress.

The riots deeply shook a nation still divided by veteran leftist Lula's narrow win over Bolsonaro in Brazil's October 2022 presidential race, and drew inevitable comparisons to the invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, Bolsonaro's political role model.

The lead judge on the case, Alexandre de Moraes, opened the session saying the Supreme Court would be considering a total of "232 cases involving the most serious alleged crimes, the first four of which we will begin trying today."

The four men on trial, aged between 24 and 52, are accused of crimes including armed criminal conspiracy, violent uprising against the rule of law and an attempted coup.

They each face a total of up to 30 years in prison.

In addition to the 232 cases already filed before the Supreme Court, prosecutors are investigating more than 1,000 others over the attacks, mostly on lesser charges that could be settled in plea bargains.

Outraged over Bolsonaro's loss to Lula in Brazil's polarising October 30 runoff election, thousands of his supporters stormed the seat of power in Brasilia a week after Lula's January 1 inauguration.

They ran riot inside the three buildings, trashing offices, smashing windows, throwing furniture into fountains, vandalising artworks and turning the congressional speaker's dais into a slide.

The Supreme Court is investigating Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, over accusations of inciting the riots.

The 68-year-old ex-army captain denies wrongdoing.

Bolsonaro is also under investigation over various allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

In June, electoral authorities barred him from running for office for eight years over his unproven accusations Brazil's election system is fraud-prone. — AFP