WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that it was "very surprising" that former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting to overturn the country's 2022 election results.
"I watched that trial. I know him pretty well -- foreign leader. I thought he was a good president of Brazil. And it's very surprising that that could happen," Trump told reporters at the White House. "That's very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn't get away with it at all. But I can always say this: I knew him as president of Brazil. He was a good man, and I don't see that happening."
Judge Carmen Lucia joined her colleagues Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino in deciding to convict the far-right leader accused of leading an armed criminal organization to stay in power after his defeat to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. On Wednesday, Judge Luiz Fux had dissented, voting for acquittal.
"The Prosecutor's Office provided conclusive evidence that the group, led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, comprised of key figures from the government, the Armed Forces, and the intelligence services, implemented a progressive and systematic plan to attack democratic institutions, with the aim of harming the legitimate alternation of power in the 2022 elections" said Lucia.
The final vote now depends on Judge Cristiano Zanin. His decision will determine whether Bolsonaro can appeal his eventual conviction. If Zanin rules in favor of the former president, Bolsonaro can appeal to the full Supreme Court.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who doubles as Trump's national security advisor, vowed the US would take action following the ruling.
"The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil's supreme court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro," Rubio wrote on the US social media company X’s platform, referring to sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on Moraes in a bid to pressure him to drop the case.
"The United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt," he added.
The crimes charged against Bolsonaro carry a maximum sentence of 43 years in prison. The judges will debate the specific sentence on Friday to decide where the former president will serve his sentence, with possibilities ranging from home confinement to a special cell in a high-security prison.
Prosecutors have charged Bolsonaro with five counts: attempting to organize a coup d'etat, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempting to violently abolish the democratic rule of law, being involved in violence, and posing a serious threat to state assets.
