STF Sentences Ex-PRF Chief Silvinei Vasques to 24½ Years Over 2022 Coup Plot

Overview

• The São José mayor signed a decree granting Vasques's requested exoneration from the Economic Development and Innovation secretary role on the same day of the ruling.
• The Supreme Court’s 1st Panel found Vasques part of the so-called nucleus 2 that coordinated misuse of federal highway police operations to impede voting, especially in Brazil’s Northeast, during the 2022 runoff.
• He was convicted of attempted coup, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, qualified damage, and participation in a criminal organization.
• Sentencing measures also suspend his political rights, render him ineligible, and require joint payment of a R$30 million collective indemnity with co-defendants.
• Other defendants in the case were also convicted, including Mário Fernandes (26 years and 6 months), Filipe Martins (21 years), and Marcelo Câmara (21 years), while one defendant was acquitted.