The prosecutor general, Paulo Gonet, told the court it was essential those behind the “frightening and shadowy” conspiracy be held to account.
But the historian Danilo Araújo Marques said that never before had top military leaders or a former president been tried for attacking democracy.
“Our democracy is going through an acid test and it’s possible it will come out of this strengthened.”.
Claiming Bolsonaro was the victim of a “witch-hunt”, Trump slapped 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports and sanctioned Alexandre de Moraes, the judge presiding over the case.
Bolsonaro’s congressman son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, has moved to the US to lobby Trump officials to take up his father’s fight.
Marques predicted there were likely to be lively days ahead as Brazil’s 40-year-old democracy notched up another landmark moment.
Even if Bolsonaro was convicted and jailed, “new chapters” could still be written, such as congress approving an amnesty, or a future rightwing president granting Bolsonaro a pardon. »