BRASILIA – A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison Thursday after convicting him of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.
Bolsonaro, who has always denied any wrongdoing, can try to appeal the ruling. He is currently under house arrest in Brasilia.
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Four of the five justices reviewing the case in the panel found the far-right politician guilty on five counts, in a ruling that will deepen political divisions and was expected to prompt a backlash from the U.S. government. It makes Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.
The five counts are: attempting a coup after losing the 2022 race to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a plot that prosecutors alleged included plans to kill Lula; participating in an armed criminal organization; attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law; damage qualified by violence; and deterioration of listed heritage.
Bolsonaro’s co-conspirators, all of them former Brazilian officials, were also sentenced for their roles in the attempted coup. Gen. Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s former defense minister and running mate in 2022, received 26 years. Admiral Almir Garnier got 24 years. Gen. Augusto Heleno received 21 years and Gen. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira got 19 years. Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, who cooperated with investigations, was given two years under an open regime.
Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso joined the panel at the end of the session and called the trial a “watershed moment in Brazil’s history.”
US officials call it ‘witch hunt’
The U.S. government immediately criticized the ruling and warned it would respond.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy” with the conviction. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, he said he'd always found Bolsonaro to be “outstanding.”
And later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on his X account that Trump’s government “will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.”
Trump's administration had already applied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods, which it said was in reaction to the process against Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro won't go to prison yet
The sentence doesn't mean Bolsonaro will immediately go to prison. The court panel has now up to 60 days to publish the ruling. Once it does, Bolsonaro's lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.
His lawyers have said that they will try to appeal both the conviction and sentence before the full Supreme Court of 11 justices, although some experts think it’s unlikely to be accepted.
“It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that there will be appeals to the full Supreme Court,” said Rafael Mafei, lawyer and law professor at University of São Paulo and ESPM university. “But of course, the defenses will try, because they should."
One of the justices, Cármen Lúcia, said she was convinced by the evidence the Attorney General's Office presented against the former president. “He is the instigator, the leader of an organization that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power,” she said.
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son, said on X the conviction was a “supreme persecution” and that history would show they were on the right side.
Trial has divided Brazilians
The trial has been followed by a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him. Some have taken to the streets to back the far-right leader who contends he is being politically persecuted.
Observers say the U.S. might announce new sanctions against Brazil after the trial, further straining their fragile diplomatic relations.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organization, and voted in favor of convicting him.
Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, another of the former president’s sons, on Thursday talked about his father on his social media platforms. But instead of mentioning his father’s conviction, he pushed for his amnesty, which he is seeking through Congress.
“It is time to do nothing less than what is correct, just,” he said.
Thomas Traumann, a former government minister and political consultant based in Rio de Janeiro, said it is “the most important day for Brazil’s democracy since the 1988 constitution was approved.”
“It is the first time a former President, a former Defense minister and a former military commander are punished for trying to stop an elected government from taking office,” Traumann said.
“The threats of the American government make this decision of the Supreme Court an even braver one. The relations between the two countries will get worse and maybe get better once the Trump administration understands there are limits to the will it wants to impose,” he added.
Bolsonaro remains a political force
Justice Luis Fux, in his dissenting opinion on Wednesday, disagreed with de Moraes and the other two justices, casting the lone acquittal vote.
“No one can be punished for cogitation,” Fux said. “A coup d’état does not result from isolated acts or individual demonstrations lacking coordination, but rather from the actions of organized groups, equipped with resources and strategic capacity to confront and replace the incumbent power.”
Bolsonaro faced accusations he attempted to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with counts including attempting to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, as well as being implicated in violence and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.
“Bolsonaro attempted a coup in this country, and there is hundreds of pieces of evidence,” Lula said early Thursday in an interview with local TV Band, ahead of the trial.
Bolsonaro already barred from running for office
Despite his legal woes, Bolsonaro remains a powerful political player in Brazil.
The far-right politician had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a separate case. He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge Lula next year.
The ruling may push Bolsonaro’s allied lawmakers to seek some amnesty for him through Congress.
“I had the honor to serve as Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s chief of staff. I have never seen any act from him that wasn’t out of love for Brazil and absolute honesty. Bolsonaro is the greatest popular right-wing leader in the country’s history,” Sen. Ciro Nogueira said on X.
Lindbergh Farias, the Workers' Party leader in the lower house, told journalists outside the court that the trial “should bury the discussion about amnesty in Congress.”
“This is for everyone who fought the military dictatorship years ago. Our democracy is strong now,” Farias said.
After the court panel debates on Bolsonaro's sentence, the embattled former leader could face increased pressure to pick a political heir to likely challenge Lula in the general elections next year.
“There is a God in heaven who sees everything, who loves justice and hates iniquity," former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro wrote on social media.
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Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville, in Washington, D.C., contributed with this report.