BRASÍLIA (Realist English). Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022) to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup d’état to prevent current leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office.
The court ruled four to one in favor of conviction, with Justices Alexandre de Moraes, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia, and Cristiano Zanin supporting the verdict. Justice Luiz Fux voted for acquittal. Bolsonaro was convicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the democratic order, forming a criminal organization, and violently undermining the rule of law.
Justice de Moraes, who led the proceedings, had requested a sentence of 24 years and nine months in prison plus two years and six months of preventive detention. The other judges backed his recommendation, while Fux opposed it.
According to court documents, Bolsonaro and his allies — including several military officers — plotted to disrupt Lula’s inauguration in January 2023. Prosecutors said the plan, code-named “Green and Yellow Dagger”, envisaged assassinating Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice de Moraes himself.
Although the coup attempt never materialized before Lula’s swearing-in, chaos erupted in Brasília on January 8, 2023, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in scenes reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol riots. Authorities said around 5,000 people took part in the unrest, with more than 1,400 arrested.
Brazilian daily O Globo reported that the court’s decision marked a historic judgment against a former head of state for conspiring to subvert democracy.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of Bolsonaro, said he was “surprised” by the ruling.