A Brazilian protester who was found to have written a message in lipstick on a statue during demonstrations in 2023 was given a 14 year jail sentence.

Debora Rodrigues, 39, was sentenced after the court decided that she was involved with a criminal organization that intended to launch a coup to see former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro reinstalled after his loss to Lalo de Silva in the 2022 election. Bolsonaro supporters were seen protesting, closing off major traffic avenues, and climbing on top of government buildings.

Rodriguez, who works as a hairdresser, wrote “you lost, idiot” on a statue outside the Supreme Federal Court. She explained that while she was at the protests, she did not expect them to be so “turbulent,” according to the BBC.

"I have never done anything illegal in my life," Rodriguez said.

Justice Alexandre do Moraes said that the hairdresser “consciously and voluntarily” aligned herself with the protesters who he says were trying to overthrow the Brazilian government. He also accused the hairdresser of concealing evidence by deleting messages on her phone.

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.

Bolsonaro supporters have pointed to the long prison sentence as proof that they’re being targeted by the left-wing Lula government, which they claim is working hand-in-hand with Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro posted to X to call for amnesty for Rodrigues. The Supreme Court of Brazil played a massive role in clearing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of corruption convictions that had previously barred him from running for office, which then allowed him to run against Bolsonaro.

In 2021, Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s corruption convictions, ruling that the court which had handled his case lacked proper jurisdiction. The justices later found that the judge overseeing Lula’s trial, Sérgio Moro, had shown bias in his handling of the proceedings. These decisions effectively wiped Lula’s record clean and restored his eligibility to run for office—a move that remains deeply controversial among his critics, including the Bolsonaro supporters who took to the street in those weeks after his election loss.

Back in March, the Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to face trial over his alleged involvement in a plot to overturn the 2022 election results. The court also ruled that he is barred from running for office in 2026.