A Brazilian election court on Friday sentenced disgraced former President Jair Bolsonaro to a seven year ban from running for any elected office for abusing government communications channels to promote his “Stop the Steal” bullshit ahead of the 2022 election he lost, the AP reports.
The case against Bolsonaro centered on a July 2022 meeting, broadcast on state-run TV, in which he summoned foreign diplomats to the presidential palace to tell them the country’s electronic voting machines were rigged, a moment that seriously alarmed the US State Department.
“This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it,” said Insper University political science professor Carlos Melo. “After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the presidency.”