Electoral Court bars pro-Bolsonaro congressman from Senate run

The electoral court in the state of Rio de Janeiro barred pro-Bolsonaro Congressman Daniel Silveira from running for the Senate due to his conviction for threatening Supreme Court justices.

In April, the Supreme Court sentenced Mr. Silveira to almost nine years in prison for threatening on social media to assault justices. The ruling also suspended his political rights for eight years.

President Bolsonaro pardoned Mr. Silveira the following day. He was in such a rush that he issued the pardon before presidential lawyers had issued an opinion on the matter.

However, most of the electoral judges followed the prosecutor’s understanding that the pardon applies only to incarceration, and not to secondary effects such as the suspension of political rights.

Daniel Silveira became a figurehead for the pro-Bolsonaro camp as a champion of so-called “free speech” — which includes threats to opponents and calls for a military coup and for people not to recognize electoral results should President Bolsonaro lose.

Over a year ago, the House Ethics Committee approved two motions to suspend Mr. Silveira’s term in office for a total of eight months: one for recording a party meeting without authorization and another for threatening Supreme Court justices.

The suspensions never took effect because House Speaker Arthur Lira, a close Bolsonaro ally, did not take them to a floor vote.In a recent poll, Mr. Silveira was in third place in Rio’s Senate race, with 7 percent of the vote — far behind 1994 World Cup winner Romário, who is running for re-election.

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