Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro drew thousands of supporters to a rally in São Paulo on Sunday, where he protested the Supreme Court’s accusations that he was involved in planning a coup. Bolsonaro, referring to the judges he claims are targeting him, said, “What these guys really want isn’t to lock me up; they want to kill me because I’m a thorn in their throat.”

According to an estimate by the University of Sao Paolo, a rally led by the far-right leader drew around 45,000 people to the well-known Paulista Avenue in the financial district. Many attendees wore the national football jersey, a symbol embraced by his supporters. Street vendors at the event sold various items, including masks of U.S. President Donald Trump, Bibles, and flags of both Israel and the United States, countries whose governments Bolsonaro often speaks highly of.  One of the main demands made by the former president was for amnesty for those convicted over the violent events of January 8, 2023. On that day, thousands of his supporters stormed key government buildings in Brasilia, the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, calling for the military to remove President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.

Brazil’s Supreme Court recently ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro will go on trial for allegedly plotting a coup after the last election. This move could derail his ambitions for a political comeback like Donald Trump’s. This will be the first time since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985 that a former leader faces trial for trying to seize power by force. Bolsonaro has rejected the accusations.

If found guilty, the 70-year-old ex-army captain, who had hoped to run in next year’s elections, could face more than 40 years in prison and be barred from politics altogether.

“The current system seeks to remove right-wing leaders from the ballot,” Bolsonaro conveyed to followers Sunday. “But if they think I’m going to give up or run away, they are wrong.”

Bolsonaro says he plans to run for president again next year, but he's currently banned from contesting elections until 2030 because he challenged the credibility of the electoral system without providing proof. He has likened his predicament to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who was recently declared ineligible to run for office for five years by a Paris court due to her involvement in an embezzlement case.

Speaking to AFP, he said, “What happened in France with Le Pen happened in Brazil with me.” Meanwhile, his wife Michelle received enthusiastic support from the crowd as she appealed to women voters, whom she described as “more than half of the population”, urging them to “define the election.” Holding up a lipstick, she referred to Debora Rodrigues, a woman who had spent two years in pre-trial detention for using lipstick to deface a statue during the unrest in January 2023. Rodrigues has now been placed under house arrest. One supporter, 65-year-old pensioner Sergio Lima, expressed his devotion by saying, “If Bolsonaro goes to prison, I’m going to stand unarmed in front of the jail, with only my faith in God and my flag.”

The president, who served only one term, is facing allegations of heading a “criminal organisation” that allegedly plotted to keep him in office no matter the result of the 2022 election. He narrowly lost the race to his leftist opponent, Lula. 

At a rally, 43-year-old domestic worker Derlaine Costa voiced her support, saying, “Bolsonaro did not steal, and that’s why they’re after him.”

Investigators say that after Bolsonaro lost the election but before leaving office, those involved in the coup plot had plans to declare a state of emergency to push for new elections.

Bolsonaro is also accused of knowing about a plan to assassinate President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a known critic of Bolsonaro and one of the judges handling the current case.

Last month, Bolsonaro organised a large amnesty rally in Rio de Janeiro, attracting thousands of supporters.