A panel of seven judges is deliberating whether to bar former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro from holding public office for several years due to his relentless attacks on Brazil's electoral system.
The trial at the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) centers around allegations that Bolsonaro abused his position and utilized state media to propagate baseless claims of security flaws within the country's electronic voting system.
After three judges ruled against Bolsonaro and one in his favor, the proceedings were adjourned until Friday morning, leaving the outcome uncertain.
Prosecutors have linked Bolsonaro's inflammatory statements to the actions of his supporters, who stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court on Jan. 8, just a week after leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration.
Lula had defeated Bolsonaro in the previous year's elections.
Following the presentation of evidence, the judges began delivering their verdicts on Tuesday, with a majority required for a conviction.
If found guilty, Bolsonaro could face a ban from public office for up to eight years, rendering him ineligible to participate in the 2026 elections.
Notably absent from the court in Brasilia, Bolsonaro made his way to Rio de Janeiro, where he expressed his frustration to reporters, stating, "Unfortunately, discussing vaccines, voting and ballot boxes has become a crime."
The charges against Bolsonaro stem from a televised meeting he held with foreign diplomats at the presidential residence in July 2022, three months prior to his defeat in the election to Lula.
Armed with a PowerPoint presentation but lacking substantial evidence, Bolsonaro spent nearly an hour presenting his argument, asserting that electronic voting machines used since 1996 compromised the transparency of the electoral process.
Lead Judge Benedito Goncalves, who presided over the case, ruled in favor of convicting Bolsonaro on Tuesday, citing his "violent speech and lies" that endangered the credibility of Brazil's electoral system.
Goncalves asserted that the briefing served to fuel a sense of collective paranoia surrounding elections during a deeply polarized period in Brazil's history.
He emphasized that Bolsonaro instigated a belief that the 2022 election results could be tampered with, causing significant harm to the democratic environment.
On Thursday, Judge Floriano Marques also voted for conviction, questioning, "What could be more serious than a head of state who, driven by electoral objectives, mobilizes the resources of the republic to propagate the idea that Brazilian elections lack integrity intentionally?"
In contrast, colleague Raul Araujo voted for acquittal, contending that the severity of the behavior did not warrant the extreme measure of electoral ineligibility.
While Bolsonaro declared in Rio that he is "not a normal ex-president" and that people are already nostalgic for his presidency, insiders suggest that the court will likely convict him.
Bolsonaro's lawyer, Tarcisio Vieira, has affirmed their intention to appeal any guilty verdict to the Supreme Court.
Dubbed the "Tropical Trump," Bolsonaro's tenure was marked by controversy. Amid the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed over 700,000 lives in Brazil, he disparaged face masks, social distancing and vaccines, even suggesting that the vaccine could transform individuals into alligators.
Additionally, his administration faced international criticism for the escalating destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
Since leaving office, Bolsonaro spent three months in the United States and has maintained a relatively low profile since returning to Brazil in March, assuming the role of honorary president in his Liberal Party.
However, he faces a host of legal troubles, with five investigations pending in the Supreme Court that could potentially lead to his imprisonment, including an investigation into the Jan. 8 attacks.
Furthermore, he is currently being investigated by the police for allegations of possessing a forged COVID-19 vaccination certificate and smuggling diamond jewelry into the country from Saudi Arabia.
