Brazilian judge votes to annul Bolsonaro case, breaking with peers

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00:00It's now two to one.

00:03Two judges voted on Tuesday to convict former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro

00:07on charges of plotting a coup and an assassination of current leftist President

00:12Luis Inacio Lula da Silva after his election win in 2022.

00:18On Wednesday, one voted to annul the trial,

00:21claiming that the five-judge panel was unfit to decide on such charges.

00:25The first to vote to acquit the former president.

00:30I conclude that the Supreme Federal Court is absolutely incompetent to judge this case,

00:36since the defendants had already lost their political positions.

00:43Due to the absolute incompetence to judge,

00:46it is necessary to declare all the decisions taken null.

00:53In 2023, Bolsonaro's supporters attempted to take control of these institutions

00:57after their candidate's defeat by President Lula.

01:01If found guilty of instigating these violent actions,

01:04Jair Bolsonaro could face 43 years in prison

01:06and has already been put under house arrest with an electronic bracelet.

01:11The trial has become the subject of international attention

01:13as U.S. President Donald Trump denounced the proceedings as a witch hunt

01:17and even threatening to punish Brazil with tariffs if the trial wasn't called off.

01:22Another Supreme Court justice who had voted to convict Bolsonaro Tuesday

01:26rejected such interference in Brazil's judiciary.

01:29Do people really believe that a tweet from a foreign authority or government

01:35will change a ruling in the Supreme Court?

01:40Does anyone really think that a credit card or Mickey Mouse

01:43will influence a Supreme Court decision?

01:48A simple majority of five judges is needed to convict the former far-right figure,

01:53with the two remaining set to announce their decisions in the coming hours.

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