Brazil's Ex-president jailed 27 years for plotting coup

Brazil’s Supreme Court has handed former president Jair Bolsonaro a prison term of 27 years and three months after finding him guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2022 election.

The five-member panel delivered its ruling just hours after convicting the 70-year-old ex-leader. Four justices voted to convict him of leading a coup plot, while one dissented. Alongside the prison sentence, Bolsonaro was also barred from running for office until 2033, adding to an earlier ban already keeping him out of the 2026 race.

Bolsonaro, currently under house arrest, did not appear in court for the sentencing. His legal team dismissed the verdict as “absurdly excessive” and vowed to appeal, though experts note that options for challenging the ruling are limited since only one justice sided with him.

Prosecutors said Bolsonaro had laid the groundwork for a coup well before the 2022 polls, spreading false claims about Brazil’s voting system, pressuring military commanders, and even entertaining a plot to assassinate then-candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his eventual successor, and other officials.

The justices agreed he was at the center of a conspiracy that culminated in the January 8, 2023 storming of government buildings by his supporters. More than 1,500 people were arrested after the riots. Seven of Bolsonaro’s allies—including ex-defense ministers, a former intelligence chief, and a security minister—were also convicted.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the trial, warned that Brazil had narrowly escaped a return to authoritarian rule. Justice Cármen Lúcia, casting the decisive guilty vote, likened the attempted coup to a “virus” that, if unchecked, could destroy democracy.

The ruling drew swift political fallout abroad. Former U.S. president Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally, said the case mirrored his own legal troubles, calling it a “witch hunt.” Current U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went further, denouncing the verdict as unjust and threatening consequences.

Brazil’s foreign ministry pushed back firmly, warning that such statements “will not intimidate our democracy” and insisting the conviction was based on overwhelming evidence.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers are expected to push for his sentence to be served under house arrest rather than in prison, while also seeking a reduction. However, legal analysts say overturning the conviction will be difficult.

For Bolsonaro, who once positioned himself as the defender of law and order, the judgment marks a dramatic fall from power—one that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.