Supreme Court convicts first January 8 defendant

The Brazilian Supreme Court on Thursday convicted the first January 8 rioter to go on trial for five crimes related to sedition, criminal association, and property damage of public landmark buildings.

During the riots, Aécio Lúcio Costa Pereira recorded a video of himself on the Senate floor, wearing a T-shirt pleading for “federal military intervention” — a dog-whistle term for a coup. In the video posted on social media, he called on fellow demonstrators to “take to the streets.” He was arrested by the police while still inside the Congress building.

“The defendant did not enter the Senate for a tour or a visit” and was fully aware of his actions, said Justice Cristiano Zanin, who took office as a member of the court last month. “He joined a crowd in turmoil, which defended, through physical and property violence, the closure of the constitutionally established powers, in addition to the deposition of the democratically-elected government.”

By an 8-3 majority, the court convicted 51-year-old Mr. Pereira to 17 years in prison and a fine.

For criminal law expert Marcio Palma, the sentence was excessive, as Mr. Pereira’s two counts of sedition overlapped. “The most severe one should have absorbed the lesser count, in the same way that a count of murder absorbs one of battery and assault,” the lawyer told The Brazilian Report.

“It is a form of general intimidation and deterrence. The idea is,...