Brazil’s Supreme Court Opens Criminal Case Against Evangelical Pastor Silas Malafaia
Brazil · Justice
Key Facts
- —The date Brazil’s Supreme Court started the criminal action on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, opening the evidence-gathering phase.
- —The charge one count of injúria, or insult, under Article 140 of Brazil’s Penal Code, with Army commander General Tomás Paiva named as the target.
- —The speech at a rally on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista on 6 April 2025, the pastor called four-star generals “cowards” and “do-nothings”.
- —The split the court’s First Panel tied 2-2 on a heavier slander count in April, and the tie went the defendant’s way.
- —The defence Malafaia says he never named the Army chief and that, as a private citizen, he should not face the Supreme Court at all.
The single surviving charge is an insult count that, even on conviction, would more likely bring a fine than a prison cell.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has opened a criminal case against Silas Malafaia, one of the country’s best-known evangelical pastors. The court’s First Panel began the action on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, over remarks about army generals at a rally last year.
He denies wrongdoing and is presumed innocent.
What the Court Actually Did
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, known by its initials STF, started the criminal action against the pastor on Tuesday. Gazeta do Povo reported that the step opens the instruction phase, when testimony and evidence are gathered.
This is not a fresh investigation. Instead, it is the next stage of a case that has been moving through the court since the spring.
Brazilian law calls this an ação penal, or criminal action. Because the complaint was accepted months ago, Malafaia is already a defendant, or réu.
No verdict has been reached, and no hearing has been held. He is presumed innocent until the panel rules on the merits.
The Charge Against Silas Malafaia
Silas Malafaia faces a single count of injúria. Brazilian law defines that as offending a person’s dignity or decorum.
Prosecutors name Army commander General Tomás Paiva as the injured party. Article 140 of the Penal Code sets the penalty at one to six months of detention, or a fine.
Increases can apply when the target is a public official, or when the words travel widely online. Even so, the total stays low by Brazilian standards.
As a result, courts routinely swap such short terms for fines or community service.
The Speech on Avenida Paulista
The words came from a rally on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista on 6 April 2025. The event pushed for an amnesty for people prosecuted over the 8 January 2023 riot in Brasília.
Malafaia asked aloud where the four-star generals of the Army High Command were. He then called them a bunch of weaklings, a bunch of cowards and a bunch of do-nothings.
He added that they did not honour the uniform they wore. Still, he said in the same breath that he was not calling for a coup.
He wanted the generals to take a stand.
Why the Justices Split
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet had asked for two counts: insult and calúnia, or slander. Because the panel is one member short, the vote on slander finished 2-2.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Justice Flávio Dino backed both counts. Justice Cristiano Zanin and Justice Cármen Lúcia accepted only the insult count.
Zanin held that the remarks were too generic to pin a defined crime on a named officer. Since a tie favours the accused under court practice, the slander count fell away.
The panel accepted the complaint on 28 April 2026. Before that, Zanin had pulled the matter out of a virtual session, delaying the ruling by more than a month.
Who Is Hearing the Case
Moraes is the rapporteur, which means he runs the case day to day. He is the same justice who has overseen the main prosecutions tied to the 2022 election aftermath.
The case sits in the First Panel, a five-seat chamber working with four justices while a vacancy drags on. On 18 August, the same day, Cármen Lúcia was elected the panel’s president.
The Pastor’s Defence
Malafaia says he never mentioned General Paiva by name. “I do not cite his name, I speak in a generic way,” he told the O Globo columnist Bela Megale.
He compared it to someone grumbling about a bunch of weak pastors. Moreover, he has accused Gonet of leading the court into error.
He also holds no public office and no special court standing. Therefore, in his reading, the case belongs in a first-instance court rather than the Supreme Court.
He told Gazeta do Povo the complaint was absurd, since Paiva appears nowhere in the speech. He frames the remarks as a legitimate use of free expression.
The same outlet reported that he pointed to critical editorials in Folha de S. Paulo and O Estado de S.
Paulo. The court has not ruled on any of these arguments.
Who the Pastor Is
Malafaia leads Assembleia de Deus Vitória em Cristo, a Pentecostal church network. He is one of Brazil’s most recognisable television preachers and a fixture of the evangelical right.
For years he organised the biggest pro-Bolsonaro street rallies. In 2026, however, Folha de S.
Paulo reported he would not coordinate the 7 September event for the first time since 2021.
The Passport and a Separate Inquiry
A different matter has shadowed him for a year. Federal Police stopped him at Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão airport on 20 August 2025, as he arrived from Lisbon.
Officers seized his passport, phone and laptop on an order from Moraes. That inquiry concerns alleged coação no curso do processo, or coercion during legal proceedings, under Article 344.
Gonet filed charges in that case on 22 September 2025 against Eduardo Bolsonaro and the commentator Paulo Figueiredo. Malafaia was left out, so he remains a subject of the inquiry rather than a defendant.
In a video on 17 August 2026 he said the passport had still not come back. The outlet Pleno.
News reported the complaint.
The Bolsonaro Backdrop
That inquiry grew out of a campaign to press Washington over the trial of Jair Bolsonaro. Police alleged the former president and his son Eduardo leaned on US tariff and sanctions threats to sway the court.
Bolsonaro’s own passport went first, on 8 February 2024, during a Federal Police operation ordered by Moraes. Moraes has since refused several requests to hand it back, citing flight risk.
The STF convicted Bolsonaro on 11 September 2025 and sentenced him to 27 years and three months. After a spell in police custody, he has served the term in home detention since late March 2026 on health grounds.
What Happens Next
With the instruction phase open, the court will now collect statements and documents. Under Brazil’s criminal procedure code, a defendant is normally summoned to file a written reply first.
No hearing dates had been announced by 19 August 2026. Only once the evidence stage closes will the First Panel rule on guilt or innocence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly did Brazil’s Supreme Court do on 18 August 2026?
It began the criminal action against Silas Malafaia, opening the stage in which evidence and testimony are gathered. He had already become a defendant in April.
What is he charged with?
One count of injúria, or insult, under Article 140 of Brazil’s Penal Code. A heavier slander count was dropped after the justices tied 2-2.
Could he go to prison?
The offence carries one to six months of detention or a fine. Terms that short are usually converted into fines or community service.
Is this the same case as the alleged pressure campaign in Washington?
No. That is a separate inquiry into alleged coercion, in which prosecutors charged Eduardo Bolsonaro and Paulo Figueiredo but not the pastor.
Connected Coverage
Sources: Gazeta do Povo; O Globo; G1; Poder360; Migalhas; Agência Brasil; Pleno.News.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error
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