Olympic champion sentenced for inciting attack on president
9:23 AM EST, November 25, 2023
Reports from Brazilian media reveal that Wallace de Souza has been found guilty of inciting an attack on the President of Brazil, Luiego da Silva. This conviction results from a contentious post shared by the 2016 Olympic volleyball champion on his social media at the beginning of the year.
The venerated Brazilian volleyball player, Wallace de Souza, has been meted a sentence for his actions earlier in the year. You may recall that he conducted a poll on his Instagram page, asking his followers if they would take lethal action against the President of Brazil.
Moreover, the survey results circulated by the athlete revealed that a majority of his audience responded affirmatively. The situation heightened in severity due to riots initiated by supporters of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, in Brazil since January.
Though Wallace issued an apology and removed the post, the consequences remained unavoidable. On February 3, 2023, he incurred a 90-day club suspension and a year's exclusion from the national team. Despite the penalty being slated to terminate on May 3, Wallace made an appearance on the field in the Brazilian Superliga final on April 30.
Participating as a member of Sady Cruzeiro, he helped his club secure the national championship. The 36-year-old player was then further penalized with an additional five-year suspension, impacting his status both in the club and the national team.
Yet, Wallace's troubles didn't end there. He was also held legally accountable for the controversial post. News from the portal redetv.uol.com.br revealed that he received sentencing this week.
Journalists from his home country report that the stellar player got a sentence of three months and fifteen days in prison. However, Wallace managed to avoid jail time by paying a fine of 20 thousand Brazilian reais (approximately 4,758 dollars).
Given the political context of the country at that time, such incitement could potentially have led the proposed action to transition from ideation to reality. This was further solidified by the revelation of startling survey results, suggesting that most of the population would contemplate the elimination of the country's highest authority. This could encourage the act, erroneously validating the 'will of the majority'. - This excerpt features in the sentencing rationale.
