A Brazilian court on Friday barred former President Jair Bolsonaro from holding public office for eight years over making unfounded claims against the country's voting system, AFP reported.
Prosecutors blamed Bolsonaro's statements for a violent invasion of the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in January by supporters angry about his electoral loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In a verdict that stretched over several days, five of the seven judges on Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal voted to censure Bolsonaro for alleged abuses of power, while two found in his favor.
The tribunal tried Bolsonaro, 68, over a televised meeting he held with foreign diplomats in July 2022, three months before his election defeat to Lula.
Bolsonaro spent nearly an hour making his argument to the assembled ambassadors, but presented no hard evidence to back his claims that electronic voting machines in use since 1996 compromised election transparency, according to AFP.
The TSE ruling means Bolsonaro will be ineligible to stand in the presidential election in 2026, opening the contest for a new leader of Brazil's political right.
Bolsonaro condemned the attacks after they took place but has long denied being responsible for them.
On Thursday, he insisted he was innocent, telling reporters, "Wanting to take away my political rights for abuse of political power is inexplicable."
Bolsonaro's lawyer Tarcisio Vieira has already said he would appeal a guilty verdict to the Supreme Court.
Bolsonaro challenged the election in November, arguing votes from some machines should be "invalidated". However, the head of Brazil's electoral court rejected the complaint.
Bolsonaro, who has been dubbed the “Trump of Brazil”, came under fire during his term in office for his incendiary speech, his testing of democratic institutions, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in 15 years.
He also had a fractious relationship with the media, frequently singling out specific newspapers and journalists for his ire.
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