BRASÍLIA — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after the country’s Supreme Court convicted him of orchestrating a military coup to cling to power following his 2022 election defeat.
In a landmark decision announced late Thursday, a five-member panel of justices found Bolsonaro guilty of leading a conspiracy to overturn the victory of his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Four justices voted to convict, with one dissenting.
Bolsonaro, previously deemed a flight risk and held under house arrest, did not attend the trial’s final session. His lawyers denounced the sentence as “absurdly excessive” and vowed to appeal. In addition to the prison term, the ruling bars him from holding public office until 2033.
The former president has dismissed the case as a “witch hunt” designed to block his expected 2026 comeback bid. His claims have resonated among right-wing allies abroad.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the verdict “very surprising” and likened it to efforts he says were made against him, adding, “But they didn’t get away with it at all.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the decision, accusing Brazil’s top court of acting “unjustly” and warning of potential responses to what he called a “witch hunt.”
The ruling marks one of the heaviest sentences ever imposed on a Brazilian political figure and underscores the judiciary’s assertive role in the country’s democratic crisis.
