Monday, September 15, 2025
Image: Carlos Moura.
The ruling was announced on Thursday. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, formed by a panel of five justices, sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison, on five charges related to an alleged plot to overturn the result of the 2022 election.
According to prosecutorial evidence, part of the plan involved assassinating then president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, through the use of explosives, poison or weapons of war.
Four out of the five justices voted to convict Bolsonaro on all charges, which include heading an armed criminal organisation, attempting to plot a coup and abolish the democratic rule of law through violent means, as well as two charges regarding the damage of property during the 8 January attack in Brasília. While announcing Bolsonaro’s sentence on Thursday night, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the former president had attempted to destroy “the essential pillars of the democratic rule-of-law state”, the consequences of which would have been the return of dictatorial rule in the country, The Guardian reported. Justice Cármen Lúcia likewise condemned what she called an attempt to “sow the malignant seed of anti-democracy”, but hailed the continuing resilience of the democratic institutions.
In sharp disagreement with their colleagues, Justice Luiz Fux voted to acquit Bolsonaro on all charges on Wednesday, arguing lack of evidence he was aware of the supposed plot, and that the Court had not jurisdiction over the case.
Seven Bolsonaro co-conspirators were also convicted, namely former defence ministers Walter Braga Netto and Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira, former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, retired general Augusto Heleno, former justice minister Anderson Torres, former naval commander Almir Garnier Santos, and former police officer Alexandre Ramagem, Al-Jazeera reported.
Bolsonaro and the seven other defendants denied any of the allegations.
Following the ruling, thousands of Brazilians, including members of the LGBTQ+ and Indigenous communities, gathered in the streets of Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and other cities to celebrate Bolsonaro’s conviction, as reported by The Guardian. President of Chile Gabriel Boric and President of Colombia Gustavo Petro both welcomed the ruling and highlighted it as a symbolic victory for democracy.
US President Donald Trump, who had earlier imposed 50% export tariffs on Brazilian goods because of the case, said the court’s decision was “very surprising”, though he didn’t confirm whether he would seek new sanctions on Brazil, when inquired by CNN reporters on Thursday. In a post on social media, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the case a “witch hunt” and said the Trump administration would respond accordingly.
In a NYT essay published on Sunday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended the court’s decision as a “historic decision which safeguard’s [sic] our institutions and the democratic rule of law”, and dismissed accusations by the US government of a “witch hunt”. He also claimed that the Trump administration was weaponising its tariff policies and the Magnitsky Act to grant Bolsonaro impunity. On a final note, Lula said Brazil was open to any negotiation with the US that could bring “mutual benefits”, but that it would not tolerate external undermining of its democratic system and sovereignity.
- Brazil’s Lula hits back at Trump over Bolsonaro trial and tariffs — BBC News, September 15, 2025
- Tom Phillips. Brazilians take to the streets to celebrate Bolsonaro conviction — The Guardian, September 12, 2025
- Tom Phillips. Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for plotting military coup in Brazil — The Guardian, September 11, 2025
- Julia Vargas Jones and Michael Rios. Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro convicted of plotting coup, sentenced to over 27 years in prison — CNN, September 11, 2025
- Brazil Supreme Court sentences Bolsonaro to 27 years over coup plot — Al Jazeera, September 11, 2025
- Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro found guilty of coup plot — BBC News, September 11, 2025
