Brazil’s Supreme Court is set to decide Wednesday whether former President Jair Bolsonaro will face trial for allegedly plotting to overturn the results of the 2022 election that removed him from power.
The country’s Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday for and against prosecuting the right-wing leader, who is accused of conspiring to undermine the transfer of power to his leftist successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A five-judge panel is reviewing evidence presented by prosecutors, who allege Bolsonaro led efforts to prevent Lula from taking office despite his narrow victory.
Prosecutors claim Bolsonaro, 70, spearheaded a plot to retain power "regardless of the election outcome." He was formally charged in February with crimes including leading an "armed criminal organization," attempting a coup, and seeking to violently overthrow Brazil’s democratic rule of law.
Bolsonaro denies the allegations, calling them "the largest political-judicial persecution in Brazil’s history." In a statement to the court on Tuesday, he accused authorities of bias, claiming, "The referee has blown the whistle before the match even began."
The former president, already barred from office until 2030 over unfounded election fraud claims, has vowed to challenge the ban and run again in 2026.
Bolsonaro governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022. After losing to Lula by a slim margin in October 2022, he never formally conceded. His supporters camped outside military bases, urging the armed forces to intervene.
On January 8, 2023—one week after Lula’s inauguration—thousands of Bolsonaro backers stormed government buildings in Brasília, vandalizing offices in what investigators call a failed coup. Bolsonaro, who was in the U.S. at the time, denies involvement.
A federal police probe uncovered what it called a "criminal organization" working to keep Bolsonaro in power. An 884-page report, made public in November 2024, accused him of planning a coup to "eliminate democratic rule." Attorney-General Paulo Gonet’s recent report went further, alleging Bolsonaro not only knew of the plot but led it—even suggesting plans to assassinate Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, now part of the panel judging his case.
The court’s decision is expected by Wednesday evening. If approved, the trial could mark a historic reckoning for Brazil’s divisive former leader.