Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after being found guilty of plotting a coup to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat. The historic ruling was issued by a panel of five Supreme Court justices, making Bolsonaro the first former president in Brazil’s history to be convicted for undermining democracy.
The court found Bolsonaro guilty of several charges, including organizing a coup, taking part in an armed criminal group, attempting to abolish democracy, and damaging government property. Justice Carmen Lucia, while casting her vote, said there was clear evidence that Bolsonaro acted with the intention of weakening Brazil’s democratic institutions.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain and long-time admirer of Brazil’s past military dictatorship, has been under house arrest. His conviction comes at a time when global populist leaders are facing legal troubles, with France’s Marine Le Pen and the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte also condemned this year.
The ruling sparked criticism from Bolsonaro’s ally, US President Donald Trump, who described the case as a “witch hunt” and imposed tariff hikes, sanctions against the presiding judge, and revoked visas for Brazilian justices. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also called the decision unfair, warning of retaliation. In response, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry rejected Rubio’s statement, calling it a threat to Brazilian sovereignty.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil would not bow to pressure and insisted the country’s democracy was strong enough to withstand such attacks.
The Supreme Court’s decision was not unanimous. Justice Luiz Fux voted to acquit Bolsonaro, questioning the court’s jurisdiction. This lone dissent could lead to appeals and potentially delay the case’s final outcome, possibly pushing it closer to the 2026 presidential election. Despite being banned from holding office until 2030, Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he plans to run again.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers denounced the sentence as excessive and vowed to appeal.
The conviction marks a dramatic fall for Bolsonaro, who rose from being a fringe congressman to winning the presidency in 2018 on a wave of anti-establishment anger. During his presidency, he was criticized for spreading vaccine misinformation during the pandemic and encouraging illegal mining and deforestation in the Amazon.
As the 2022 election approached, Bolsonaro questioned the voting system and used increasingly radical rhetoric, raising fears he would not accept defeat. After losing to Lula, thousands of his supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia, an event widely compared to the January 6 Capitol riots in Washington.
The case is seen as a major test for Brazil’s judiciary, which has taken an aggressive stance to protect democratic institutions against far-right extremism. Justice Alexandre de Moraes has led many of these cases, targeting disinformation campaigns and coup attempts.
Bolsonaro’s conviction also included seven of his allies, five of them military officers. It marks the first time in nearly 140 years of Brazil’s republic that military officials have been punished for trying to overthrow democracy.
Historians say the trial sends a strong message to the armed forces and the political class that democratic values must be respected. Bolsonaro’s future remains uncertain, but his sentencing is a defining moment in Brazil’s struggle to safeguard its democracy.
