The majority of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) voted this Thursday (8) for the conviction of Maria de Fátima Mendonça Jacinto, known as “Fátima de Tubarão (SC)”, for the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic State of Law, coup d’état, qualified damage, deterioration of listed heritage and armed criminal association.
The elderly woman is 67 years old and has been in prison since January 2023, when she was the target of one of the phases of Operation Lesa Pátria, by the Federal Police (PF), which investigates the participants and financiers of the coup acts of January 8.
The case is being tried by the Court’s virtual plenary and there is still no definition regarding the sentence. So far, the rapporteur, Alexandre de Moraes, and ministers Dias Toffoli, Flavio Dino and Cármen Lúcia have set the sentence at 17 years in prison. Cristiano Zanin and Edson Fachin voted for the sentence to 15 years. The vote will close at 11:59 p.m. today.
In addition to the conviction, the accused will have to pay R$30 million in joint and several liability for the damages caused by the vandalism of the headquarters of the Supreme Court, Congress and the Planalto Palace.
The conviction was based on Alexandre de Moraes’ vote. According to the minister, Fátima de Tubarão invaded the STF headquarters building, broke windows, chairs, tables and works of art and posted her actions on social media. Based on the videos, she was identified and arrested by the Federal Police two weeks after the coup acts.
“In a video that circulated on social media, the defendant is called Fátima and identified as a resident of Tubarão (SC) who was there breaking everything. The defendant, in turn, screams and celebrates, saying: It’s war. She also claims that she defecated in the Supreme Court bathroom, dirtying everything, and ends the recording shouting that she’s going to get Xandão,” says the minister’s decision.
On social media, Fátima’s defense stated that they intend to exhaust all appeals provided for in the STF’s internal rules against the conviction. The lawyers also said that they do not rule out taking the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
