Top court sentences first Jan. 8 rioter to 17 years in prison
Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Aécio Lúcio Costa Pereira—the first defendant in the case concerning the attempted coup staged on January 8—to 17 years in prison.
The decision also means he will have to pay a collective sum of BRL 30 million together with the other defendants for the depredation of the Planalto presidential palace, the National Congress building, and the headquarters of the Supreme Court itself.
The majority of justices convicted the defendant of five crimes: armed criminal association, violent abolition of the democratic state of law, attempted coup d’état, damage aggravated by violence and serious threat, and damage to property listed as heritage.
Aécio Pereira, a resident of São Paulo city, had been arrested on the Senate floor during the riot. He went as far as to share a video on social media during the riot, and is still under arrest.
The conviction was defined by the votes of Justices Alexandre de Moraes, Cristiano Zanin, Edson Fachin, Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia, Luís Roberto Barroso, Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, and the head of the court, Rosa Weber.
The last vote was cast by Justice Rosa Weber. She pointed out that January 8th was no “Sunday in the park.”
“It was a Sunday of devastation—‘the day of infamy,’ as I will always call it. A Sunday of devastation for the physical and cultural heritage of the Brazilian people, a devastation caused by a mob who, with total contempt for public affairs, invaded these historic buildings in the Three Powers square,” she declared.
Justices André Mendonça and Nunes Marques were the main dissenters in the trial and did not recognize that the accused committed the crime of coup d’état.
The session was also marked by a row between Justices Mendonça and Alexandre de Moraes.
During the trial, Aécio Pereira’s defense argued the trial of the case by the Supreme Court was “politically motivated.” According to the counsel, the defendant is not shielded from prosecution as high-ranking officials in Brazil are, and should therefore be tried at lower instances. In addition, the lawyer refuted the accusation that the defendant took part in the riot.
