Pablo Marçal ordered to pay R$ 10,000 for insulting political rival

The Court of Justice of São Paulo has ordered influencer and businessman Pablo Marçal (PRTB) to pay R$ 10,000 in moral damages to Marco Antonio Mills Martins, a leader of the Rede Sustentabilidade party.

The ruling stems from an incident during the 2024 municipal election campaign, where Marçal blew flour into the face of Martins, who was then a candidate for city council. Marçal subsequently posted a video of the act on social media with the caption “Faz o M cheirador” (Make the M a sniffer), accompanied by nose emojis. The post garnered over 7 million views and 150,000 likes, while generating numerous comments falsely associating Martins with drug use.

Judge Telma Berkelmans dos Santos, of the 1st Civil and Criminal Special Court of Barueri, ruled that the conduct exceeded the limits of civility and harmed the victim's honor. The judge noted that the act was not related to political debate. Because Marçal failed to appear at the scheduled hearing despite being summoned, the sentence was issued in absentia (revelia). The decision is subject to appeal.