A Brazilian man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for stealing a football autographed by superstar Neymar during the January 2023 riots in Brasília, when supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings.
The Supreme Court convicted 34-year-old Nelson Ribeiro Fonseca Junior on Monday night for the theft, along with charges of violent abolition of democratic rule, armed criminal association, and attempted coup.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that Ribeiro had “actively participated” in the riots, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters vandalized Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace to protest Bolsonaro’s election loss to left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The autographed ball, gifted by Neymar’s boyhood club Santos to the Chamber of Deputies in 2012, was taken from a display corridor during the chaos. Ribeiro admitted to taking it but claimed he did so to “protect” it, handing it over to police 20 days later.
Moraes dismissed this defense, declaring the ball a “public good belonging to the public heritage of Brazil.”
The riots occurred a week after Lula’s inauguration, following his narrow victory over Bolsonaro in October 2022. Protesters demanded military intervention to overturn the election.
Bolsonaro, who was in the U.S. during the riots, faces separate charges for allegedly conspiring to cling to power. Prosecutors claim his plot failed only due to lack of military support. He denies the allegations.
So far, over 500 people have been convicted for their roles in the January 8 uprising, with Ribeiro’s case standing out due to the high-profile nature of the stolen item.
