Jair Bolsonaro, the ex-President of Brazil, has been ordered to 27 years and three months in prison after a Supreme Federal Court panel convicted him of trying to stage a coup. The votes for conviction were cast by four out of the five justices.
As per Xinhua news agency, Justices Cristiano Zanin and Carmen Lucia gave their guilty rulings on Thursday. Bolsonaro was found guilty on five distinct charges of plotting a coup d'état, attempting to use force to destroy Brazil's democratic system, being part of an armed criminal gang, aggravated property destruction, and destruction of heritage sites under protection.
The Supreme Federal Court opened the case on September 2, necessitating a majority decision by the five judges. On previous days during the week, Justices Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino had already voted in favor of conviction, but Justice Luiz Fux dissented on Wednesday, requesting an acquittal of Bolsonaro.
At 70 years old, the former president remains under house arrest. While he did not attend the trial’s concluding session, he still retains the option of appealing the verdict before the court’s full 11-member bench.
Bolsonaro has consistently asserted that the case was political, designed to keep him out of the 2026 presidential election — which he is already disqualified from running in, based on previous decisions. He has before referred to the proceedings as a "witch hunt."
His grievances have been seconded by US President Donald Trump, who, while imposing 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports in his own presidency, has stood up for Bolsonaro. In response to the conviction, Trump commented that he felt the verdict was "very surprising" and compared himself to the processes against him: "That's very much like they tried to do with me. But they didn't get away with it at all."
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