Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison on Thursday after being convicted by Brazil’s Supreme Court for allegedly plotting to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat. The five-member panel of justices issued a split decision, with Alexandre de Moraes, Flávio Dino, and Cármen Lúcia voting to convict, Justice Luiz Fux voting to acquit, and one vote still pending at the time of the announcement.
Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August 4, will remain confined to his residence as his legal team prepares an appeal. His lawyers have vowed to take the case to the full 11-member Supreme Court, where they hope to overturn the ruling.
The case stems from a federal police investigation launched after the contentious October 2022 presidential election, in which Bolsonaro lost narrowly to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with results showing 50.9% for Lula and 49.1% for Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat, and investigators allege he conspired with allies to overturn the election results and halt Lula’s inauguration.
According to prosecutors, Bolsonaro met with senior military commanders in December 2022 at his residence, urging them to support a plan to declare emergency powers. A draft decree, referred to as the “State of Defense,” allegedly outlined provisions to suspend the Constitution and seize voting machines under the pretext of investigating supposed election fraud.
While Lula da Silva was inaugurated on January 1, 2023, just one week later, thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace in Brasília. The violent attack shocked the nation and drew parallels to the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Authorities contend that Bolsonaro’s rhetoric and planning were central to that unrest, though his defense maintains he neither orchestrated nor authorized the attack.
Bolsonaro was first arrested on July 4, 2024, after prosecutors formally indicted him on charges including attempting a coup, leading an armed criminal organization, and damaging public property.