The Justice of São Paulo condemned Bolsonarist singer José Luiz Bonito to pay compensation of R$ 15,000 to journalist Miriam Leitão, from Globonews.
Bonito, who introduces himself as Roberto Boni, covers Roberto Carlos and has a YouTube channel called Canal Universo.
In October 2018, when the channel had 485,000 subscribers, he broadcast in which he called the journalist a “terrorist”, “disgusting” and “psychopath”, in addition to saying that she had robbed a bank, among other offenses.
“She lives up to her name…, a terrorist, arrested for assaulting Banespa,” he said at the time. “She was a thirty-eight, and the military put her in jail”.
In the lawsuit filed against the singer, Miriam stated that she had never robbed any bank and said that he “acted with the clear intention of tarnishing his objective honor and reputation, going far beyond mere criticism of his political position or journalistic performance”.
“It is evident that a post like this —foul, rude, low and sexist— hit his reputation and dignity in full, having effects until today, because, as he stressed in his personal testimony, he is still ridiculed and called a terrorist not only in the environment virtual, but when going out into the streets of the country”, lawyers Ivan Santiago and Karla Dutra, who represent the journalist, told the court.
Roberto Boni, who ran and lost the election for state deputy in São Paulo last year for the PMB, defended himself in the process by stating that he did not intend to offend the journalist, but to mention a publication he had read.
He declared that he withdrew the publication from his social networks “as soon as he learned of the untruthfulness of the news” and that, with such an attitude, he demonstrated that he had not the slightest intention of defaming the journalist. “It was a misunderstanding”, he said, noting that, due to the 2018 elections, tempers were “very inflamed”.
Judge Barbara Donadio Antunes Chinen did not accept the argument and condemned him for slander, libel and defamation. He received a sentence of two years and six months of detention, in an open regime, a punishment that was replaced by the provision of services to the community for the same period.
In addition to the compensation of R$ 15,000, he will also have to pay a fine of around R$ 7,800 and a cash payment of R$ 5,500.
The singer can still appeal.