The influencer accepted an agreement offered by the Public Electoral Ministry to suspend an electoral criminal action against him related to an episode of the 2024 elections, when the then candidate for mayor of São Paulo released a false medical report against his rival.
The suspension was approved by the Electoral Court and provides as a condition for compliance, for two years, with a series of measures, including “the ban on visiting bars, nightclubs and prostitution houses”. If, within this period, he meets all the conditions, the process can be terminated. If he fails to comply, the case will be processed again.
The decision was made by judge Maria Elizabeth de Oliveira Bortoloto, from the 386th Electoral Zone of Barueri, who states that the proposal “is appropriate to the gravity of the facts narrated and has the consent of both parties”.
According to the agreement, he will also not be able to leave the municipality of , the district where he declared his residence, without judicial authorization and, from March 13, he will have to appear in court every three months to inform and justify his activities.
A minimum payment of R$5,000 to the entity Comunidade Terapêutica Acolhedora Filhos da Luz is also established.
The judge also warned that failure to comply with the conditions or the emergence of a new case for a crime or misdemeanor could lead to the benefit being revoked. In this case, the criminal action resumes as normal.
Wanted by SheetMarçal’s defense did not comment until the publication of this text.
According to the legislation, when the minimum sentence for a crime is equal to or less than one year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office may propose the suspension of the process, if a set of requirements are met, for a period of two to four years. Once the defendant accepts the agreement, it is up to the judge to approve it, specifying the conditions that must be observed during the period of suspension. If the suspension period ends without revocation, the process is terminated.
The case against Marçal was initiated after the publication, two days before the first round of the 2024 municipal elections, of one about Boulos. The document stated that the then candidate for mayor and federal deputy — now a minister in the Lula (PT) government — had suffered a serious psychotic episode after using cocaine.
At the time, Marçal repeatedly stated that he would prove that his opponent was a drug user. The release of the report had immediate repercussions and was interpreted by opponents as an attempt to defame the rival without time to challenge it before the vote.
Before this agreement, Marçal had already been ordered by the Electoral Court to pay R$100,000 in compensation to Boulos for statements accusing him of being a drug user, including the episode in the report.
Marçal and also accused Tassio Renam Souza Botelho accepted the conditions, an agreement that, says the judge, does not represent recognition of guilt or confession. Botelho, who was the influencer’s lawyer at the time, was named by Marçal as the source of the false report.
Another person investigated in the case, Luiz Teixeira da Silva Junior, refused the agreement offered by the Public Ministry. With this, the process will continue in relation to him, and the Court has scheduled an interrogation for March 26th.
Marçal is already ineligible due to another decision by the Electoral Court. In a separate case regarding the 2024 campaign, the court found that he committed abuse of economic power and misuse of the media by promoting boosts and sweepstakes on social media during the dispute. The punishment provides for ineligibility for eight years.
