Man who sat in Moraes’ chair during 8/1 is sentenced to 14 years in prison

The man whose images sitting in the chair of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister went viral during the undemocratic acts of January 8, 2023 was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Amid the invasion of the buildings of the Three Powers, Aildo Francisco Lima made a live broadcast in which he filmed and displayed the furniture in the Court’s plenary, which ended up vandalized by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Aildo was sentenced for committing five crimes: violent abolition of the democratic rule of law; attempted coup d’état; qualified damage; deterioration of listed heritage and armed criminal association.

Aildo’s defense contested the veracity of the video used as evidence in the case and argued that it did not correspond to the original version of the recording. Aildo himself, however, acknowledged the authorship of the material, although he denied any posting of it on the web.

— Hey, guys, this is Xandão’s chair. Damn, now I’m a minister of the Court. Come on, c**** — he said, in the video.

The STF ministers concluded the coup plot trials this Tuesday and classified the moment as “historic”. The First Panel concluded the analysis of the accusations against nucleus 2, known as the “strategic nucleus”, with the conviction of five of the six defendants.

For a minister heard privately, this was “one of the few trials in the world involving civilians and military personnel due to a coup plot”. In this judge’s opinion, “the STF fulfilled its role, and when it does so, it becomes strong”.

At the end of the trial session, Minister Cármen Lúcia gave a speech in which she highlighted the role of the Supreme Court in defending democracy, despite criticism and attempts to embarrass the court. According to the minister, the STF gave testimony of “commitment and dedication to democracy”.

— The testimony of the STF in this trial of the four nuclei, which were decisive because they were crucial nuclei, is a testimony of our commitment and dedication to Brazilian democracy and our commitment to the powers attributed to us by the Constitution, and this task is indispensable, irrevocable — stated the minister, who is the dean of the First Panel.

Cármen also highlighted the historic nature of the trial concluded by the Supreme Court with the conviction of authorities involved in an attempted coup d’état after the 2022 elections.

— This is something unprecedented in the history of Brazil, to make it clear that every form of aggression against democratic institutions has a response from the Brazilian state — he said.

Minister Flávio Dino, president of the Panel, also stated during his vote that the STF will continue to contain abuses ‘”wherever they come from” and criticized attempts to “shy down” or “diminish” the Court’s actions.

— In this square of the Three Powers, abusive acts sometimes materialize that come from various sources, and in this case I consider that the Supreme Court, from the top of its “little house”, must continue exercising its role of containing abusiveness wherever it comes from. And that requires paying prices — he pointed out.

To corroborate the historical dimension of the coup plot trial, which culminated in the conviction of former president Jair Bolsonaro and also a series of members of the government’s leadership, as well as high-ranking members of the Armed Forces, minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the criminal actions, made a numerical overview of the processes and details that surrounded the analysis of the case over the last year.

Moraes highlighted that, since September, 21 sessions have been held to analyze criminal actions, distributed over four months — September, October, November and December — and held on 12 different dates.

According to the numbers presented by the minister, 127 lawyers participated in the trial of the coup plot, and 154 witnesses were heard. Of these, only eight witnesses were for the prosecution, and the rest, 146, for the defense. Among the 29 defendants charged, 25 were charged with all charges presented by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), two partially convicted and two with criminal reclassifications for lighter crimes.

Nucleus 1, which brought together Jair Bolsonaro and his closest allies, concentrated the heaviest sentences: the former president received 27 years and 3 months, while generals such as Braga Netto and Almir Garnier were sentenced to more than two decades each. Core 3, made up of military personnel who would act in the execution of the plan, had sentences of between 16 and 24 years. Core 4, focused on the dissemination of disinformation, imposed sentences of up to 17 years.

In this last nucleus, the second block of more severe sentences was imposed, with General Mário Fernandes being sentenced to 26 years and six months and Silvinei Vasques to 24 years and six months. Most of the defendants will serve a closed regime, with the exception of Mauro Cid, sentenced to two years in an open regime.