Attacks with false accusations of cocaine use during the 2024 electoral campaign led the São Paulo Court to sentence the influencer () to pay R$100,000 in moral damages to his then opponent (), who is now the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Lula (PT) government. The decision is subject to appeal.
According to the sentence, handed down last Thursday (29) by judge Danilo Fadel de Castro, of the 10th Civil Court, during the dispute for São Paulo City Hall, Marçal in debates, interviews and publications on social networks.
The decision points out that the strategy included gestures that simulated the use of cocaine and the use of pejorative expressions with the aim of disqualifying the opponent in the eyes of the electorate.
In a statement, Marçal’s office stated that the decision refers to “a trial in the first instance, and is not definitive.” “We disagree with the understanding adopted and we are already adopting all appropriate legal measures, with the filing of the appropriate appeal, confident that the decision will be reviewed in higher courts”, says the text.
According to the decision, the attack reached its most critical point on the eve of the first round, when Marçal published on his social networks an article that attributed Boulos to a psychiatric hospitalization related to addiction to chemical substances.
With the Sheet showed shortly after the publication of the report, there was . Civil Police and Federal Police investigations attached to the process concluded that even during the electoral period, the removal of content from digital platforms was determined.
In a post on a social network, Boulos commented on the conviction: “It’s still not enough, I will continue with the criminal action against him. Anyone who makes politics with fake news has to be banned from public life!”, he said.
The judge also states that the episode does not fall within the limits of political criticism. “This is not about opinion, satire or rhetorical hyperbole. It is about the cold and calculated fabrication of a documentary lie to deceive the electorate and destroy the honor of the opponent”, he argues.
For the magistrate, there was a deliberate intention to cause harm. “The defendant acted with intense intent, using his vast digital network to increase the damage”, states the decision, highlighting the systematic use of social networks to expand the dissemination of the false accusation.
The sentence also rules out the argument that the repercussion of the content would have occurred spontaneously or through the exclusive initiative of third parties. According to the judge, it was demonstrated that Marçal encouraged the replication of his videos through profiles dedicated to publishing cuts of interviews and debates.
“By publishing a false document with very serious content, the defendant did not exercise his freedom of expression or political criticism; he actually committed a malicious illicit act, aiming to destroy his opponent’s reputation through fraud”, states the sentence. Elsewhere, it concludes that “the defendant’s conduct went beyond any ethical or legal limit tolerable in the democratic debate.”
When setting the compensation amount, the judge took into account the seriousness of the accusation, the electoral context and the reach of the publications, which totaled millions of views. According to the decision, the false imputation not only affected Boulos’ personal honor but also had the potential to influence the electoral process.
At the end of 2025, Marçal spoke about the episode and the campaign period, which he refers to as “war” and “madness”. He held his lawyer, Tassio Renam Botelho, responsible for publishing the report (both were denounced by the Public Electoral Ministry) and further stated that he was also defamed by the other candidates.
In addition to this sentence in the civil sphere, Marçal has already been convicted in more than one action in the Electoral Court for his conduct in the 2024 election, with the punishment being ineligibility for a period of eight years, counting from the date of that year’s election.
In an action regarding the selection competition made by the then candidate for Mayor of Nassau, handed down by the judge of first instance. The case continues to be processed and can be appealed to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).
In another action, in November 2025, in an action regarding the alleged sale of Marçal’s support to candidates for councilor in exchange for payments by Pix. There is also a third conviction of this type that has not yet been judged by the TRE-SP.
