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.”
