Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasília on July 17. Mateus Bonomi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Mateus Bonomi/AFP via Getty Images
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and 3 months in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election.
The verdict is historic: It marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state has gone on trial for attempting to overthrow the government.
The 70-year-old far-right leader, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, and seven alleged co-conspirators faced accusations ranging from plotting a coup, attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic order, and participating in an armed criminal group.
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President Trump was quick to react the news about his former political ally, telling reporters at the White House that he thought Bolsonaro “was a good president of Brazil” and that the conviction was “very surprising.” He added, “It’s very much like what they tried to do with me, but they didn’t get away with it at all.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Washington would respond “accordingly” to what he called “a witch hunt.” Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, who has lobbied in the U.S. on his father’s behalf, predicted further American sanctions.
Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, was also found guilty of charges relating to the riots in Brasília on Jan. 8, 2023. On that day, Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the capital, after he lost the 2022 election to leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, causing property damage and destroying historical items.
In the end, four out of the five justices returned a guilty verdict. The judge leading the case, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, gave his guilty verdict first, with nearly five hours of evidence and argument on Tuesday.
Moraes, long seen as a nemesis of Bolsonaro, was widely expected to convict him — and did not hold back in his ruling. Bolsonaro’s allies view Moraes’ handling of the trial and broader crackdown on disinformation in Brazil as heavy-handed. In response in July the Trump administration slapped Moraes with sanctions and stripped him of his U.S. visa.
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Moraes said Bolsonaro orchestrated efforts to undermine democracy, repeatedly calling him “the leader of a criminal organization.” He said Bolsonaro began laying the groundwork for a coup in 2021, spreading disinformation about Brazil’s voting system and encouraging actions that led to the Jan. 8, 2023, riots in Brasília.
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Moraes pointed to “overwhelming evidence” of a plot by elite army personnel to assassinate then-President-elect Lula and Moraes himself, noting that part of the plan — poisoning Lula and shooting Moraes — was printed inside the presidential palace. In court, the justices were shown the document, codenamed Operation Green and Yellow Dagger, with key passages highlighted.
“This wasn’t drafted in secret by terrorists,” Moraes said. “It was written in Brazil’s government headquarters, while Bolsonaro was in office.”
Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with security forces as they raid the National Congress in Brasília, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023. Joedson Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
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Joedson Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
While Moraes and three other justices pushed for convictions on all charges for the former president, on Wednesday Justice Luiz Fux pressed for his acquittal on all five counts. He took 13 hours to read his dissent and said the case should be heard by the full 11-member Supreme Court, arguments that could potentially be used by Bolsonaro’s defense team in any appeal.
Bolsonaro has consistently denied the allegations. His lawyer, Celso Villardi, argued there is no evidence linking him to a coup plot. The former president’s lawyers have said he would appeal a guilty verdict. The other defendants have also denied the charges.
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro (R) greets supporters during a rally on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 29. Miguel Schincariol/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Miguel Schincariol/AFP via Getty Images
The case has severely strained Brazil’s relations with the U.S. Trump has called the trial a “witch hunt” and cited it as justification for imposing 50% tariffs on Brazil in August.
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A former army captain, Bolsonaro became Brazil’s first far-right president since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. His rapid rise from congressman to president in 2019 was as quick as it was brutal — surviving an assassination attempt during the election campaign in 2018.
Bolsonaro built a fiercely loyal base as a deeply divisive figure, particularly during his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump (left) speaks with then-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 7, 2020. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Nicknamed the “Trump of the Tropics,” Bolsonaro championed gun rights, traditional family values and an anti-gay stance while wielding social media with unfiltered bravado.
Since leaving office, he has faced multiple legal challenges, including abuse of power and falsifying COVID vaccination records. In 2023, he was barred from public office until 2030 for spreading disinformation about Brazil’s voting system.
Yet he remains a powerful force: He won 49% of the vote in 2022 and still draws tens of thousands to the streets in his defense.
With Bolsonaro sidelined, his allies are now vying to inherit his mantle ahead of the next year’s elections, betting that his influence will continue to shape Brazil’s political future.
For Brazil, the trial is a reckoning. The country has endured repeated coup attempts, including the 1964 takeover that ushered in two decades of military rule. Now, its Supreme Court has moved to hold a former president accountable for trying to undermine Latin America’s most populous democracy and steer it back toward authoritarian rule.
