Brazilian Supreme Court justice calls Bolsonaro the leader of coup attempt

By Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday branded former President Jair Bolsonaro the leader of a criminal group that tried to overturn the 2022 election, as he cast the first vote in the final phase of the ex-president's trial.

Bolsonaro, who was president of Brazil from the start of 2019 to the end of 2022, will face a verdict within days on charges he orchestrated an attempted coup to remain in power after his 2022 electoral defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The charges stem from a sprawling investigation that has uncovered alleged plots, including plans to poison Lula and his running mate and assassinate Moraes, who oversaw the 2022 elections and now presides over the coup-related trials.

Bolsonaro stands accused of taking part in an armed criminal organization, attempting to violently abolish democracy, organizing a coup, and damaging government property and protected cultural assets.

His lawyers have maintained his innocence on all counts.

The charges are tied to Bolsonaro's alleged incitement of riots in January 2023, when thousands of his supporters stormed and ransacked the nation's Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasilia, the country's capital.

Moraes was the first member of a five-justice panel to begin public deliberations on Tuesday. He said the alleged crimes involved had already been recognized by the high court in prior rulings and the current task is to identify those responsible.

"There is no doubt ... there was an attempt to abolish the democratic rule of law, that there was an attempted coup, and that there was a criminal organization that caused damage to public property," Moraes said.

The role of Moraes in the case has made him a target of Bolsonaro's allies, including U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, which imposed sanctions on the judge and levied 50% tariffs on many Brazilian imports to the U.S. for what Trump called a "witch hunt" against the former Brazilian president.

Following Moraes, Justice Flavio Dino, Lula's former justice minister, is expected to vote. He will be followed by his peers Luiz Fux, Carmen Lucia, and Cristiano Zanin, a former attorney for Lula who presides over the panel. Two Supreme Court justices appointed by Bolsonaro are not on the panel.

A verdict is expected by the end of the week. If convicted, Bolsonaro faces a potential sentence of more than 40 years, though the country's maximum allowable prison term is capped at 40 years.

Even if convicted, Bolsonaro could avoid his full sentence. Already barred from running for office until 2030, his supporters hope a future president might grant him a pardon.

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas , who served in Bolsonaro's cabinet, pushed Congress last week to grant the ex-president amnesty, a move many saw as positioning the governor as an heir to Bolsonaro's coalition in next year's election.