Defense lawyers for former President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday urged Brazil’s Supreme Court to acquit him in a high-stakes trial over alleged coup attempts.
In a 197-page document submitted during closing arguments, Bolsonaro’s legal team called him “innocent of all charges” and said the trial, which began in May, presented an “absolute lack” of evidence.
Bolsonaro and seven associates face accusations of trying to retain power despite his 2022 electoral defeat to Brazil’s current leftist leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The case stems from the Jan. 8, 2023, storming of government buildings in Brasilia by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, a week after Lula’s inauguration. The demonstrators claimed the election was fraudulent and called on the military to intervene.
Bolsonaro, who led the Latin American country from 2019 to 2022, has maintained his innocence for months, calling any coup “abhorrent.”
He faces up to 40 years in prison if found guilty.
Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest in Brasilia this month for violating a ban on using social media to plead his case to the public.
The prosecutor’s office maintains that Bolsonaro led an “armed criminal organization” that orchestrated the coup attempt and was its main beneficiary.
The case file also focuses on meetings where draft decrees were allegedly presented, including those involving the possible imprisonment of officials such as Supreme Court judges.
However, the defense has stressed that “there is no way to convict” Bolsonaro based on the evidence presented in the case file, which they argued adequately demonstrated that he ordered the transition of power to Lula.
His lawyers have questioned the validity of the plea bargain granted to Lieutenant Col. Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide, whose testimony forms the basis of many accusations.
Bolsonaro’s legal proceedings have also fueled diplomatic tensions between Brazil and the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called the trial a “witch hunt,” and the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing Bolsonaro’s trial, in response.
Trump has also signed an executive order imposing 50% tariffs on many Brazilian imports, citing Bolsonaro’s “politically motivated persecution.”
