Brazil’s Former President Convicted

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been convicted of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election and sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.

A Supreme Court panel found Bolsonaro guilty on five counts, including plotting a coup d’état, leading an armed criminal group, attempting to abolish Brazil’s democratic order, committing violence against state institutions, and damaging public property during the January 8, 2023 storming of government buildings by his supporters. Four of five justices voted to convict.

Prosecutors said Bolsonaro backed a plan to pressure the military, undermine election credibility, and even assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his vice president, and a Supreme Court justice. Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing, calling the case political persecution.

The verdict makes the 70-year-old ineligible to run for office for eight years and raises the possibility he could spend the rest of his life in prison. His defense team is expected to appeal.

The ruling has deepened Brazil’s political divide. Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters protested during Independence Day celebrations, while his son and U.S. allies, including President Donald Trump, condemned the trial as a “witch hunt.” Brazil’s government rejected U.S. criticism, calling it interference in domestic affairs.

Bolsonaro now joins a growing list of Latin American leaders convicted of crimes, including Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe.