Brazil’s Supreme Court ruling against former president Jair Bolsonaro triggered mixed reactions across major cities on Friday.
From live samba music to flags and banners denouncing him, Bolsonaro’s opponents poured into the streets in celebration after the court handed him a 27 year prison sentence for attempting a military coup to cling to power.
At the same time, others voiced outrage over the Justices’ decision. A group of Bolsonaro’s loyal supporters even held a vigil outside his residence in Brasília, where he remains under house arrest.
In the decisive ruling, four of the five Supreme Court justices reviewing the case declared Bolsonaro guilty on five charges, a verdict that is expected to deepen Brazil’s political divides.
The charges include: attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in an alleged plot that also involved plans to assassinate Lula, participating in an armed criminal organization, attempting the violent abolition of democratic rule of law, violent property damage and destruction of protected heritage.
