Brazil’s Supreme Court Convicts ‘Disinformation’ Cell, Reopens Probe of PL Leader

Overview

• By a 4–1 vote, the STF’s First Panel found seven defendants guilty of trying to undermine the 2022 election and the democratic order, with Alexandre de Moraes, Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia and Flávio Dino in the majority and Luiz Fux dissenting.
• Sentences include multi‑year prison terms and ineligibility, with penalties such as 17 years for Ângelo Denicoli and 7 years and 6 months for Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, plus R$ 30 million in collective damages.
• The panel ordered the reopening of an investigation into PL president Valdemar Costa Neto for alleged participation in the plot, reviving a PF indiciamento that the PGR had not pursued.
• Moraes said the decision will guide future cases, warning that the Judiciary and prosecutors will monitor disinformation and hate speech in upcoming elections.
• The court also published the acórdão from the earlier convictions of the ‘crucial’ nucleus, opening appeal windows, and scheduled trials for remaining nuclei in November and December, with one case still pending citation.