On January 8, 2023, during a riot by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a ball signed by Neymar Jr. was stolen from a museum in the lower house of the country's National Assembly. The country's highest court, the Supreme Federal Court, has sentenced a 34-year-old football fan named Nelson Ribeiro Fonseca Jr. to 17 years in prison for stealing the ball.


On April 10, 2012, Neymar presented Marco Maia, a deputy of Santos football club and former president of the lower house of parliament, with a ball bearing his autograph. The gift, given during the club's centenary celebrations, was kept as a souvenir in the lower house. However, Ribeiro claimed that he found the ball on the floor during a violent attack on state institutions in Brasilia.


Brazilian media outlet Globo reported that the ball stolen from the national parliament was found by a Bolsonaro supporter in the Sorocaba area 20 days after the theft. Nelson was then arrested and taken to the city's federal police station. Although he was questioned and released at the time after writing a written statement, he is accused of committing various crimes.


Jair Bolsonaro lost the 2022 presidential election to Lula da Silva. But he repeatedly refused to accept the result. Then, on January 8 of the following year, Brazil exploded into a fire of protests over the power struggle. And in this, supporters of former President Bolsonaro attacked the country's Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court.


The country's media reported that Nelson was also involved in the attack that caused the destruction. Therefore, he will have to spend 15 years and 6 months in prison and another year and a half in detention. At the same time, the court has fined him 130 days. Where one-third of his personal wage must be paid as a fine every day. In total, the amount amounts to 66 thousand Brazilian reals.


Meanwhile, more than 500 people were accused in the incident. The minister in charge of the incident, Alexandre de Moraes, has ordered the recovery of 30 million Brazilian reals from those accused of damaging national property and destruction.


However, while agreeing to prosecute and punish Nelson, a travel agency manager by profession, some Brazilian ministers have objected to the length of his sentence. They have proposed a 15-year prison sentence. However, another minister, Luiz Fox, has also called for the sentence for property damage to be dropped.