The charges against Bolsonaro are serious: For the first time, a former Brazilian president is facing trial on charges of plotting a coup. The trial against the man who is dividing the country begins today.

Around 4,000 supporters of ousted President Jair Bolsonaro storm the presidential palace, the Constitutional Court, and the parliament in Brasilia. Convinced they were cheated out of their election victory, they smashed windows, urinated in offices, demanded military intervention, and attacked police officers who were on duty on January 8, 2023. Like Isabela Lisboa.

"Destruction everywhere in front of me, real fighting, everything at the limit. It didn't matter to us whether they called themselves patriots or what political flag they held. Our mission is greater than that," Lisboa says.

It was the most serious attack on Brazil's democracy since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. The big question is: Did former President Bolsonaro actively plot a coup? Did he and other members of his government, with the help of the military, try to prevent left-wing politician Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from seizing power? Brazil's Supreme Court must now decide on this. If convicted, the former president faces more than 40 years in prison.

Bolsonaro denies allegations

Bolsonaro himself has consistently denied the allegations, speaking of political persecution."Look, nothing links me to a coup attempt that never happened, and the others have nothing to do with it either," Bolsonaro said."This is completely exaggerated. I am the former president of the Republic, 70 years old, and this is an absolute humiliation."

The public prosecutor's office sees things differently and bases its case on comprehensive investigations by the federal police: chats, audio recordings, documents were reviewed, and witnesses were questioned.

According to the report, a strategy for a coup has been in the works under Bolsonaro's leadership since 2021. To this end, false news about impending electoral fraud was deliberately spread months before the election. An emergency decree was intended to annul the election results and order new elections.

Bolsonaro wanted to convince the military of the coup

As early as December 2022, Bolsonaro is said to have convened a meeting with military commanders to convince them of the plans. However, the then army chief allegedly refused to support them. There were even allegedly assassination plans against Lula, his vice president, and Constitutional Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, of which Bolsonaro was aware.

"Anyone who claims that there was just a bit of riot, a bit of chaos, on January 8th is either completely ignorant or was complicit in the attempted coup," said Federal Judge Moraes, who is overseeing the coup trial, last year. The investigations by the Federal Police and the Attorney General's Office clearly showed that a coup attempt had taken place in Brazil."I can say without hesitation: Had it not been for the violent reaction of the institutions, we would not be debating this matter today. Because the Supreme Federal Court would be closed."

A historic process

It is a historic trial: In Brazil, which experienced one of the longest military dictatorships in Latin America, members of the armed forces have never been held accountable, and no former president has ever been tried for an attempted coup.

But it's also a process that deepens the divisions in an already polarized Brazil. For some, Bolsonaro is a coup plotter; for others, however, he's a martyr, and Constitutional Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes is the tyrant who, for personal gain, is undermining Brazil's separation of powers.

"I think he's paying today for what he did during his presidency," says 37-year-old Natalia Tostes."All his mockery, his lies, his indifference to people's deaths in the pandemic. So Alexandre de Moraes's stance is absolutely right, you understand?"

Many Brazilians believe the trial was politically motivated

But not everyone thinks so."In my eyes, the judge's decisions are completely arbitrary. He is a dictator, yes," says Brazilian Ailton Campos."Since last year, he has taken several completely unacceptable and unfair measures."

According to the latest Datafolha poll, 38 percent of Brazilians believe Bolsonaro's trial is rigged and politically motivated. They've recently received support from the White House.

US President Donald Trump, who was never held accountable for the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021, speaks of a witch hunt against his ally Bolsonaro and called for an end to the criminal proceedings.

Trump's administration therefore imposed record tariffs on Brazil and harsh sanctions against Judge Moraes. This is arguably the most serious US interference in the internal affairs of a Latin American country since the Cold War. But it also demonstrates the solidarity of the global right – Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo, has been lobbying for his father in Washington for months.

Verdict likely to further divide Brazil

Judge de Moraes responded clearly to the US government's measures: He would ignore the imposed sanctions and continue his work.

In Brasilia, police have increased security ahead of the possible verdict in the criminal trial against Bolsonaro and his associates. In Congress itself, a large mural commemorates the events of January 8, 2023.

Police officer Isabela Lisboa hopes that society has learned from this."The image reminds us that democracy is steadfast and that it will come back even stronger," Lisboa says.

The verdict, whatever its outcome, is likely to further divide Brazil – and this one year before presidential elections are due to take place again.