RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) 鈥 A panel of Brazil鈥檚 Supreme Court justices began proceedings Tuesday to determine whether former President Jair Bolsonaro and close allies will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet with plotting a coup after to his opponent and current President . Part of that plan allegedly included poisoning Lula and killing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of Bolsonaro.
Five Supreme Court justices 鈥 including de Moraes, the rapporteur 鈥 opened proceedings around 9:45 a.m. (1245 GMT) in Brasilia to rule on the charges leveled by Gonet. If a majority votes in favor, the accused will become defendants in a criminal case.
Bolsonaro and his alleged accomplices also stand accused of participating in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage qualified by violence and a serious threat against the state鈥檚 assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.
The criminal organization was active between July 2021 and January 2023, de Moraes said at the beginning of proceedings Tuesday. He said the group's practices comprised of "a series of malicious acts aimed at abolishing the democratic rule of law and deposing the legitimately elected government.鈥
Gonet, who spoke after de Moraes and had 30 minutes to present his indictment of the accused, said that the group had sought to maintain Bolsonaro in power 鈥渁t all costs."
鈥淭he criminal organization documented its project and during the investigations, manuscripts, digital files, spreadsheets and exchanges of messages were found,鈥 Gonet said.
Bolsonaro denies charges
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says that he's being politically persecuted.
Local television network Globonews showed Bolsonaro arriving at the Supreme Court. Speaking earlier to journalists Tuesday morning at Brasilia's airport, Bolsonaro again denied the accusations.
鈥淚'm fine. I always hope for justice. Nothing is substantiated in the accusations, made in a biased way, by the Federal Police,鈥 Bolsonaro said, referring to the .
Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years, but when combined with the other charges, it could result in a sentence of decades behind bars.
Observers say that it's likely that the charges will be accepted.
鈥淭here is no shadow of a doubt that there are very clear elements鈥 that crimes were committed, said Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university. 鈥淭he current tendency is that there will be a criminal trial.鈥
Bolsonaro tries to rally support
Gonet filed charges against a total of 34 people in February. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will analyze whether to accept charges against eight of them. As well as Bolsonaro, the court will vote on the accusations faced by former Defense Ministers Walter Braga Netto and Paulo S茅rgio Nogueira and ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres, among others. The court will decide on the others' fates later on.
Bolsonaro has sought to shore up political support before the possible trial, including by holding in Rio de Janeiro on March 16.
Local media reported that around 18,000 people attended the rally, based on figures from a monitoring project linked to the University of Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro鈥檚 allies had hoped to draw a crowd of 1 million, which led some analysts to say that his ability to .
Bolsonaro called on social media Sunday for a new demonstration on April 6, to be held on one of Sao Paulo鈥檚 main arteries, Avenida Paulista.
As with the protest earlier this month, the former president and his allies will push for Congress to grant amnesty to those in jail for their roles in the Jan. 8, 2023, riot, when Bolsonaro鈥檚 die-hard fans stormed and trashed the Supreme Court, Presidential Palace and Congress a week after Lula took office.
In his indictment of Bolsonaro and others linked to him, Gonet said that the rampage was a last-ditch attempt to hold onto power.
Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time, having left Brazil a few days before the end of his term.
Bolsonaro's lawyer Celso Vilardi on Tuesday denied Bolsonaro's involvement in the riot.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not possible to want to blame (him), making him out to be the leader of a criminal organization, when he didn鈥檛 take part in the January 8 affair,鈥 Vilardi told the Court.
Bolsonaro, a former military officer who was known to express nostalgia for the country鈥檚 1964-1985 dictatorship, openly defied Brazil鈥檚 judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office.
He has already been from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country鈥檚 electronic voting system.
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Associated Press journalist Eduardo Fran莽ois contributed to this report.
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