BRASÍLIA, Brazil—In a landmark ruling with profound implications for Brazil’s political landscape, the nation’s Supreme Court unanimously convicted two former legislators on Wednesday for orchestrating the 2018 assassination of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, a case that exposed alarming collusion between political elites and paramilitary organizations.
The court’s four-justice panel sentenced former federal deputy Chiquinho Brazao, 62, and his brother Domingos Brazao, 60, a former state assemblyman, to 76 years and three months imprisonment each. Their convictions encompass charges of double aggravated homicide, leading an armed criminal enterprise, and the attempted murder of one of Franco’s aides who survived the attack.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes delivered a powerful indictment during proceedings, stating the Brazao brothers were not merely connected to militia groups but constituted “the militia itself.” The court established that Franco—a 38-year-old Black, lesbian activist raised in Rio’s favelas—was targeted specifically because her advocacy threatened the brothers’ financial interests in illegal real estate expansion within impoverished communities.
Franco’s murder, which also claimed the life of her driver Anderson Gomes, triggered national outrage and international condemnation, revealing how Rio’s militias—originally formed as community protection forces—have evolved into sophisticated criminal syndicates controlling territory through extortion and land grabbing while enjoying political patronage.
Three additional defendants received substantial sentences: former police commissioner Rivaldo Barbosa (18 years for obstruction), militia member Ronald Paulo de Alves (56 years for surveillance), and Domingos Brazao’s ex-advisor Robson Calixto Fonseca (9 years for intermediary role). Two triggermen were previously sentenced in 2024, with one providing crucial plea testimony.
Justice Carmen Lucia, the court’s sole female member, voiced profound distress during deliberations, questioning how many more activists Brazil would allow to be silenced through violence. The verdict marks a watershed moment in a nation grappling with political violence and institutional corruption.