Bolsonaro jailed for 27 years after Brazil court convicts him of attempting coup

A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices has sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison after convicting him of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.

Bolsonaro, who has always denied any wrongdoing, can appeal the ruling. He is currently under house arrest in Brasilia.

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 US government. It makes Bolsonaro the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.

The US government immediately criticised the ruling and warned it would respond.

US President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy” with the conviction. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, he said he had always found Bolsonaro to be “outstanding”.

And later, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on his X account that Mr Trump’s government “will respond accordingly to this witch hunt”.

Mr Trump’s administration had already applied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods, which it said was in reaction to the process against Bolsonaro.

The sentence does not mean he will immediately go to prison. The court panel now has up to 60 days to publish the ruling.

Once it does, Bolsonaro’s lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.

Rafael Mafei, lawyer and law professor at University of Sao Paulo and ESPM University, said Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators could present a motion for clarification, a quick appeal that usually does not change the decision.

He said: “It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that appeals to the full Supreme Court would change the outcome for any of the defendants.

“Unless the Supreme Court changes the interpretation it has been adopting since 2018. But of course, the defences will try, because they should.”

One of the justices, Carmen Lucia, 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 organisation that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power,” she said.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son, said on X that the conviction was a “supreme persecution” and that history would show they were on the right side.

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 US might announce new sanctions against Brazil after the trial, further straining its fragile diplomatic relations.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said on Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organisation, and voted in favour 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 defence minister and a former military commander are punished for trying to stop an elected government from taking office,” Mr 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.

Justice Luis Fux, cast the lone acquittal vote.

“No one can be punished for cogitation,” Mr Fux said in a written statement.

“A coup d’état does not result from isolated acts or individual demonstrations lacking coordination, but rather from the actions of organised groups, equipped with resources and strategic capacity to confront and replace the incumbent power.”