Comedian sentenced to 8 years in prison over his jokes

A Brazilian comedian said a judge took issue with his Wikipedia page when she handed down an eight-year prison sentence.

Comedian Leo Lins, whose full name is Leonardo de Lima Borges Lins, was about three years removed from his comedy special when Judge Barbara de Lima Iseppi ruled the comedian made “discriminatory” remarks while on stage.

The comments the judge made during her ruling have been perceived as “power-hungry” by other comedians, who expressed shock at their compatriot’s conviction.

‘This is indicative of what’s coming to America, and it’s happening around the world already.’

Lins’ 2022 special “Disturbing,” or “Perturbador” in Portuguese, was ordered to be taken down from the internet by the Brazilian government in 2023, according to Euro Weekly News. Since then, it has garnered millions of view on uploads by third parties.

According to the outlet, the court found that Lins’ performances have contributed to “the spread of verbal violence in society and promote intolerance.”

Judge Iseppi added, “Freedom of expression cannot be used as an excuse to make hateful, prejudiced, and discriminatory remarks.”

Those remarks, also known as jokes, allegedly contained material about the following groups: “black people, obese individuals, elderly people, those living with HIV, homosexuals, evangelicals, Indigenous communities, people from the impoverished northeast of Brazil, Jews, and people with disabilities.”

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In a video uploaded by Lins on Thursday, the comedian alleged that the judge made several bizarre remarks during the sentencing, including citing Wikipedia as a source for her claims.

“Wikipedia,” Lins bluntly said in the video, called “About My Prison.”

“This is not a joke,” he continued. “Imagine an innocent man accused of murder. The judge says, ‘Did you kill?’ He says, ‘No.’ She goes on Wikipedia [where] people can lie. ‘Yes. Convicted.'”

Lins also claimed the judge said that even though the jokes “happened in a theater,” they became harmful when they “left the theater” and showed up online.

Blaze News reached out to different comedians who have faced cancellations from comedy clubs over the years due to their content, including Leonarda Jonie, who shared the news of Lins’ conviction to her 215,000 X followers.

“This is indicative of what’s coming to America, and it’s happening around the world already,” Jonie told Blaze News.

Jonie, who is Albanian, said that everyone should be concerned with the “imposition on freedom of speech” that is reaching every corner of the globe.

“Notice how you can’t joke about the predetermined protected groups, but you can say whatever you want about white people?” she added.

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Comedian Brendan Blacquier, who goes by the name “Uncle Hack,” said Lins should be celebrated for being “overly inclusive with his jokes.”

“I don’t think there’s a group he didn’t make fun of,” the comedian jokingly told Blaze News. “Also, I was unaware that the country of Brazil appointed a czar of laughter. The only appropriate charges that Leo Lins should face is for being too funny, by the sounds of it.”

The popularity of Lins seems indisputable: A 2020 special on his YouTube channel has over 8.3 million views. Blacquier said that comedians of such a stature, and most comics in general, will never do what Lins did.

“That’s exposing the government for what they truly are. Power-hungry to the point they want to control emotions.
I wish Leo Lins well and hope his spirits remain high,” Uncle Hack added.

According to the Daily Caller, Lins’ legal team plans to appeal the conviction based on a Supreme Court ruling from 2023 that overturned a lower court that criminalized Lins’ words.

Lins was also fined 300,000 Brazilian reals, or about $54,000 USD.

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