Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters protest on Copacabana Beach after coup charges

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro poured onto Copacabana Beach on Sunday to express their support for the far-right politician as he faces charges he plotted a coup.

Mr Bolsonaro and close allies attended the demonstration in which protesters also called for Congress to grant amnesty to those in jail for their roles in the January 8 2023 riot, when government buildings in the capital Brasilia were ransacked.

A sea of people wearing Brazil’s yellow and green national football shirt chanted and held placards reading “Amnesty, now!”.

Local media reported that around 18,000 people attended, based on figures from a monitoring project linked to the University of Sao Paulo. Mr Bolsonaro’s allies had hoped to draw a crowd of one million.

Last month, Brazil’s prosecutor-general formally charged Mr Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Part of that plot allegedly included plans to poison Mr Lula and shoot dead Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees several cases against him.

After losing to Mr Lula, Mr Bolsonaro refused to concede, and left for the US days before the end of his term.

Mr Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and has said he is a victim of political persecution. His defence is seeking to send the case to the full Supreme Court, where Mr Bolsonaro appointed two of its 11 justices.

If convicted, the former president could be sentenced to decades behind bars.

Speaking at the demonstration, Mr Bolsonaro again denied the allegations.

“Nobody buys that story. The only reason this coup story wasn’t perfect for them was because I was in the United States. If I’d been here, I’d still be in prison, or maybe killed by them. I’m going to be a problem for them, in prison or dead,” he said.

The pro-Bolsonaro demonstration took place nine days before a panel of five of Brazil’s 11 Supreme Court justices will gather in Brasilia to decide whether the former president and several of his allies will stand trial on five counts.

“The hundreds of political prisoners and persecuted people need all of us more than ever,” he said in a video posted on social media on March 9.

That was a reference to the more than 400 people convicted for their roles in the January 8 riot, when Mr Bolsonaro’s die-hard fans stormed and trashed the Supreme Court, Presidential Palace and Congress a week after Mr Lula took office.

In his indictment of Mr Bolsonaro and 33 others linked to him, Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet said the rampage was a last-ditch attempt to hold onto power.

Paulo Henrique Cassimiro, a political scientist at Rio de Janeiro State University, said Mr Bolsonaro was trying to portray himself and those in jail as innocent patriots before the Supreme Court decides whether to accept the charges.

“If he strengthens himself politically, (Brazil’s Congress) could potentially grant him amnesty in the event of a conviction,” Mr Cassimiro said. But the low turnout at the rally shows that his clout has diminished, he added.

Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, said it was likely the charges would be accepted.

“What you need to start a trial is different from what you need to convict someone. There are enough elements,” Mr Bottino said, citing seized documents, statements from witnesses and large quantities of messages exchanged.

Cassiane Sousa, a 25-year-old student, said she attended the protest to show that Mr Bolsonaro’s movement still has strength despite his legal troubles.

“We’re here because we still have hope, otherwise we’d just stay home,” she said.