Brazil’s opposition party on Friday challenged President Jair Bolsonaro’s Pardon of his political ally, Daniel Silveira, as unconstitutional. On Thursday, Bolsonaro pardoned Silveira, who had been sentenced to 8 years and 9 months in prison for hate speech and “crimes of threatening the Democratic State of Law.” The Sustainability Network Party or Rede Sustentabilidade, Brazil’s opposition party, filed suit. in court claiming that this pardon is unconstitutional. The party has argued that the constitution was made to serve the nation as a whole and not to advance Bolsonaro’s personal interests. Silveira, a former congressman, was arrested last year in February after posting a video online supporting the 1964-1985 military dictatorship and claiming that the judges on the court deserved a beating. His pardon has caused confusion among the people as it was announced just a day after the court handed down its verdict. This is not the first time that Bolsonaro has faced a duel with the judiciary. He maintains that the judiciary is biased against him and that the pardon has only served to heighten tensions between the executive and the judiciary. In an election year, this is especially disconcerting. Despite the criticism against him, Bolsonaro went on to state in a speech that he pardoned Silveira in the name of freedom of expression. Furthermore, he claimed that the Supreme Court had exceeded his authority. “Bolsonaro has just transformed the institution of pardons into an institutional disgrace,” Brazilian politician Ciro Gomes said as he expressed his disappointment in Bolsonaro.