Brazil judge gives 2 former cops long sentences for the 2018 murder of leftist icon Marielle Franco

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A judge on Thursday handed down long sentences to two former police officers for the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco, an icon of Brazil’ s political left whose killing sparked outrage.

Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz were sentenced to almost 79 years and almost 60 years, respectively, for the March 14, 2018 drive-by shooting that killed Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes. Jurors found that Lessa fired the gun and de Queiroz was the wheelman on the night of the crime.

Lessa and de Queiroz, arrested in 2019, previously signed plea bargains confessing their roles, but the jury had final word on their guilt on homicide and other charges. The verdict, although expected, comes as a measure of solace to the many who saw the martyrdom of the Black, bisexual woman as an attack on democracy, and worried that the crime would go unpunished.

The prosecutors had argued each man should be sentenced to the maximum possible 84 years for the three counts — double homicide, attempted homicide and driving a cloned vehicle.

As Judge Lucia Glioche finished reading the sentence, applause erupted in the room as victims’ families began to cry. Marielle’s sister, Anielle Franco, Brazil’s minister for racial equality, held a long, tearful embrace with her parents and Marielle’s daughter, Luyara Franco. Her father rested his head on the chest of former congressman Marcelo Freixo, who was her political mentor.

Brazilian law does not allow for life imprisonment, and each man will serve no more than 30 years of their sentences. Due to their sealed plea bargains, local media has reported that Queiroz and Lessa may serve 12 and 18 years in prison, respectively, including time already served. Prosecutors have denied their sentenced would be reduced.

Either way, Thursday’s sentencing is seen as only a step toward justice being done, with another trial yet to come for the men accused of ordering her killing. They will also have to pay 706,000 reais ($122,000) in moral damages to several of the victims’ family members and provide an allowance to the young son of Gomes until he turns 24, according to a statement on the court's website.

Known universally by her first name, Marielle, she was raised in one of Rio’s poor communities known as favelas. She became known for her efforts to improve the lives of ordinary residents. Following her election in 2016, she fought against violence targeting women while defending human rights and social programs.

Testimony Wednesday during the first day of the trial offered details about the moments preceding and following the shooting. Franco’s assistant and friend who was also in the car, Fernanda Chaves, was among those giving testimony, as was Franco’s mother and her partner Mônica Benício.

Choked up and often unable to talk, Benício said the last thing Marielle ever said to her was “I love you.”

“We had plans to get married with a wedding party. When Marielle died, what I felt was that they had taken away our promise of the future,” she said, later adding that the right to a just city was one of Marielle’s causes.

“Marielle also defended the right to decent housing from the perspective of the favela, the periphery, this was the theme of the city’s rights agenda.”

Both defendants participated in the trial by videoconference from prison. Lessa is in Sao Paulo while de Queiroz is in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia.

Federal authorities started investigating the case in earnest once leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2023.

With Lessa and de Queiroz sentenced, attention will now turn to the men accused of ordering the hit: two brothers with purported ties to criminal groups known as militias, which illegally charge residents for various services, including protection.

Guilhermo Catramby, a Federal Police detective, told the court Wednesday that the assassination was “undoubtedly” motivated by Marielle’s work regarding land rights, especially in the west side of Rio de Janeiro. Her work there was “a thorn in the side of militia interests,” Catramby said.

In March, Federal Police detained the two brothers, federal lawmaker Chiquinho Brazão and his brother Domingos Brazão, a member of Rio state’s accounts watchdog. They have denied any involvement in the killing or with militias and have yet to go on trial.

In his plea bargain, Lessa told police that the politician brothers hired him and informed him that the then-chief of the state’s civil police, Rivaldo Barbosa, had signed off beforehand. Barbosa, who also denies any involvement, was arrested in March.

Marielle’s family and Ágatha Arnaus, widow of Gomes, spoke to journalists after the trial. Holding hands, they said that while the conviction offered some reparation after years of struggle and pain, it was just the first step in a long journey toward justice.

“I wanted my mother here, but today will certainly go down in this country’s democratic history,” said Luyara, the councilwoman’s daughter, holding back tears.

“If the justice system had not convicted these two cruel murderers, we wouldn’t have a moment of peace. But this doesn’t end here,” said Antonio Francisco da Silva, Marielle’s father. “There are those who ordered the crime. Now the question is: when will those who ordered it be convicted?”

Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo.

People attend a rally prior to the trial of former Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco's alleged killers outside the Court of Justice, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A woman shouts demanding justice before the start of the trial of councilwoman Marielle Franco’s suspected murderers, outside the Court of Justice, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Former military police officers, shown on screen, from left, Ronnie Lessa and Elcio Queiroz attend via video conference their trial where they are accused of murdering city councilwoman Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, at the Court of Justice in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

People gather demanding justice before the start of the trial of councilwoman Marielle Franco’s suspected murderers, outside the Court of Justice, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Anielle Franco, left back, and her mother Marinete Silva, center, family members of of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco, arrive to the Court of Justice to attend the trial of Franco’s suspected murderers, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Mother of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco, Marinete Silva, right center, and Luyara Santos, left center, daughter of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco, accompanied by other family members, arrive to follow the trial of former city councilwoman Marielle Franco's alleged killers, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Monica Benicio, center, widow of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco, arrives to the Court of Justice to attend the trial of Franco's suspected murderers, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A demonstrator embraces a child while holding a sign with a message that reads in Portuguese: "I want justice for Marielle and Anderson", before the start of the trial of councilwoman Marielle Franco’s suspected murderers, outside the Court of Justice, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Advisor to slain city councilwoman Marielle Franco, Fernanda Goncalves Chaves, pictured on screen, testifies during the trial of Franco's suspected murderers, at the Court of Justice in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

An activist wearing a T-shirt with the image of former city councilwoman Marielle Franco attends a rally prior to the trial for Franco's alleged killers, outside the Court of Justice, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powellsaid Sunday the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations.

The move represents an unprecedented escalation in President Donald Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he's repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans.

The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project Trump has criticized as excessive.

Here's the latest:

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Fed Chair Powell said Sunday the DOJ has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations.

The move represents an unprecedented escalation in Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans.

The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump has criticized as excessive.

Powell on Sunday cast off what has up to this point been a restrained approach to Trump’s criticisms and personal insults, which he has mostly ignored. Instead, Powell issued a video statement in which he bluntly characterized the threat of criminal charges as simple “pretexts” to undermine the Fed’s independence when it comes to setting interest rates.

▶ Read more about the subpoenas

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One from Florida, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)