Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted Thursday by a Supreme Court majority of orchestrating a coup attempt to stay in power following the 2022 election, marking the first time in Brazil’s history that a former leader has been found guilty of “attacking democracy.”
Four of the five-judge panel voted to convict, while one voted to acquit. He has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. The ruling aligns Bolsonaro with other conservative figures facing legal reckoning this year, including France’s Marine Le Pen and the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte.
The conviction has already drawn fury from Bolsonaro’s ally, President Trump, who denounced the proceedings as a “witch hunt” and responded with tariff hikes on Brazilian goods, sanctions on the presiding judge, and visa revocations for most members of Brazil’s high court.
Justice Luiz Fux broke with the majority on Wednesday, acquitting Bolsonaro of all charges. His dissent could provide Bolsonaro’s defense grounds to appeal and potentially delay the case into the lead-up of the 2026 presidential race, where Bolsonaro insists he remains a candidate despite being barred from office.
Fux’s vote also galvanized Bolsonaro’s supporters, who celebrated it as proof of judicial overreach. “When coherence and a sense of justice prevail over vengeance and lies, there is no room for cruel persecution or biased judgments,” former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro wrote after the ruling.
