‘Lipstick coup’ suspect sentenced to 14 years in Brazilian jail over nonviolent crime

A Brazilian protester was reportedly sentenced to 14 years in jail for writing a message in lipstick on a statue during demonstrations in 2023.

Debora Rodrigues, 39, was recently sentenced after being convicted of involvement with a criminal organization with intent to launch a coup, according to the BBC.

Rodrigues was a supporter of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. His supporters attacked government buildings after he lost to now-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 presidential election. Hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters took part in the protest.

Rodrigues, who works as a hairdresser, wrote, “You lost, idiot” on the statue of Justice outside the Supreme Federal Court.

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However, she didn’t expect to be prosecuted for writing the message, and told the jury that she was unaware of the scale of the protests.

“I went to the protests and I didn’t imagine that they would be so turbulent,” Rodrigues was quoted as saying, according to the BBC. 

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“I have never done anything illegal in my life,” she added.

According to the BBC, Justice Alexandre de Moraes argued that the hairdresser “consciously and voluntarily” aligned herself with protesters seeking to overthrow the Brazilian government.

The justice also accused Rodrigues of concealing evidence by possibly deleting messages on her phone, and said that the 39-year-old had admitted to taking part in “anti-democratic acts.”

The lengthy nature of the sentence has been used by Bolsonaro supporters to argue that they are victims of political persecution by the left-wing Lula administration, working in conjunction with Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro himself has called for amnesty for Rodrigues in a post on X.

In March, Bolsonaro was ordered to stand trial over the alleged coup attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. The right-wing politician, who has an ongoing power struggle against Lula, was also told by the Brazilian Supreme Court that he is not permitted to run in 2026.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.