Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been convicted of trying to overturn the 2022 election through a coup plot. Prosecutors say the plan included assassinating President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The Brazilian Supreme Court found him guilty on all five counts. Four of five justices voted to convict. Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.
He was convicted of plotting a coup d’état, joining an armed criminal group, and attempting to abolish Brazil’s democracy by force. Judges also ruled he damaged protected state property during the violent January 8, 2023 invasion of government buildings by his supporters.
Details of the Coup Plot
Prosecutors told the court the plan involved using explosives, military weapons, or even poison to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Federal police submitted evidence that Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of the attempt to pressure the military to seize power. They said he also created a secret “crisis management office” to run the government after the coup.
The plot reportedly began in 2021, when Bolsonaro tried to discredit Brazil’s electronic voting system. After losing to Lula in 2022, prosecutors said he called on his supporters to mobilize. That led to the violent invasion of Congress, the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court in Brasília.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who first voted guilty, declared that the accused “committed all the criminal offenses imputed by the Attorney General’s Office.” Justices Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia, and Cristiano Zanin agreed. Only Justice Luiz Fux dissented, insisting it was not a coup since Lula remained in power.
Political Fallout in Brazil and Beyond
The verdict bars Bolsonaro, now 70, from holding political office for eight years. His lawyers say they will appeal.
The ruling has further divided Brazil ahead of the 2026 elections. Thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters marched on Independence Day to protest the trial. His son, Flavio Bolsonaro, denounced it as persecution.
Bolsonaro called the case a witch hunt. He won backing from U.S. President Donald Trump, who slammed the verdict and announced tariffs and sanctions against Brazil. Washington also sanctioned Justice de Moraes, a move Brazil’s government condemned.
Bolsonaro now joins other Latin American leaders convicted in recent years, including Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe. Lula himself was once convicted of corruption, but his case was later annulled, clearing the way for his 2022 comeback.
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