TSE fines Bolsonaro R$15,000 for fake news against Lula

Judgment

Plenary decision will take place this Thursday (8)

The plenary of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided this Thursday (8), by 5 to 2, to fine former president Jair Bolsonaro R$ 15 thousand for having disseminated false news against president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the 2022 election campaign, when both were running for President.

The case concerns Bolsonaro’s publications on social networks that associated Lula and his party, the PT, with the criminal organization Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). The TSE had already ordered the removal of the publications during the campaign, and has now reiterated its determination.

The trial on the merits of the matter had begun in November last year, when the then rapporteur, minister Benedito Gonçalves, had voted for a fine of R$15,000. The analyzes were interrupted at the time due to a request from Minister Raul Araújo.

This Thursday, with the resumption of the trial, the rapporteur was followed by ministers Cármen Lúcia and Alexandre de Moraes. Ministers Ramos Tavares and Maria Cláudia Bucchianeri, who are no longer part of the TSE, had also voted in favor of the fine.

Araújo and minister Nunes Marques voted against it, as they considered that there was no violation of electoral propaganda rules and that the publications were within the campaign limits.

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