US President Donald Trump on Thursday called the conviction of his Brazilian ally Jair Bolsonaro on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the democratic order “very surprising.”
Trump, who has maintained a close relationship with the former Brazilian president, spoke out shortly after the ruling of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), which found Bolsonaro guilty of attacking democracy after his electoral defeat in 2022.
“I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and I find it very surprising that that could happen. That’s very similar to what they tried to do to me, but they absolutely failed,”Trump told reporters when asked about the court ruling. He added: “He was a good man.”
The conviction of Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2023, was handed down this Thursday by the First Chamber of the STF with a majority of four votes to one. The final vote was signed by Cristiano Zanin, president of the chamber and former lawyer of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom the court determined that Bolsonaro tried to prevent his inauguration after losing the 2022 elections. The ruling also condemns seven other former collaborators, including former ministers and military chiefs, considered part of an armed criminal organization aimed at keeping Bolsonaro in power by any means.
During his presidency, Trump maintained a relationship of political affinity with Bolsonaro, characterized by a commonality in conservative approaches and explicit support during both their administrations. Trump's statements draw a parallel between Bolsonaro's judicial situation and the trials he himself has faced in the United States, suggesting political persecution against leaders of his same ideological persecution.
The guilty verdict against Bolsonaro has generated international repercussions, while the Brazilian justice system continues to deliberate on the penalties that could reach up to 43 years in prison, based on the crimes of abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d'état, criminal organization, deterioration of protected assets and qualified damage.
The verdict, which attributes Bolsonaro leadership to the conspiracy to overturn the election result, is based on an investigation conducted by the Attorney General's Office, which detailed various stages of the plot: from a campaign to discredit institutions to the violent assault on key public buildings in Brasilia on January 8, 2023.
Trump, distancing himself from the accusations Bolsonaro faces for attempting to block Lula's inauguration, insisted on his support for the former Brazilian president and questioned the legitimacy of the legal proceedings.
