BRASILIA, Brazil — A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison Thursday after convicting him of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.
Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, he said he always found Bolsonaro to be “outstanding.” THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.
Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of the former president’s sons, on Thursday talk about his father on his social media platforms.
After the court panel debates on Bolsonaro’s sentence, the embattled former leader could face increased pressure to pick a political heir to likely challenge Lula in the general elections next year.
BRASILIA — On Thursday, a group of justices from the Brazilian Supreme Court found former President Jair Bolsonaro guilty of trying to stage a coup in order to stay in power after losing the 2022 election. Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.
In Brasilia, Bolsonaro is presently under house arrest. He may challenge the verdict.
The far-right politician was found guilty on five counts by four of the panel’s five justices who reviewed the case.
U. S. . Hours after the conviction, President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure of the decision. As he was leaving the White House, he told reporters that he always thought Bolsonaro was “outstanding.”. “.”.
THE NEWS IS BREAKING. Below is AP’s earlier story.
The Brazilian Supreme Court’s justice panel voted Thursday to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro of trying to stage a coup in order to stay in power after losing the 2022 election. The decision is expected to exacerbate political divisions and provoke a response from the US government.
The far-right politician was found guilty on five counts by four of the panel’s five justices who reviewed the case. Luiz Fux, another justice, disagreed and voted to acquit the former president of all charges, and Cármen Lúcia and Cristiano Zanin were the last to rule on Thursday.
Bolsonaro could face decades in prison if the panel’s decision is upheld.
U. A. The conviction made President Donald Trump “very unhappy,” he declared hours later. As he left the White House, he told reporters that Bolsonaro was always “outstanding” in his opinion. “”.
He went on to say the conviction is “very bad for Brazil.”. “”.
Attorneys for Bolsonaro have declared their intention to appeal the decision to the entire 11-judge Supreme Court.
The 70-year-old former president is currently under house arrest and has denied any wrongdoing.
Bolsonaro is the first former president of Brazil to be found guilty of trying to stage a coup. He has not been present at the court proceedings, and although he was spotted in the garage of his home on Thursday morning, he did not talk to reporters.
According to Justice Lúcia, the evidence that the Attorney General’s Office provided against the former president convinced her. “He is the catalyst, the head of a group that planned every action to hold onto or take control,” she claimed.
A divided society has responded to the trial; some people support the process against the former president, while others continue to support him. Some have demonstrated in support of the far-right leader, who claims he is the target of political persecution.
Trump called Bolsonaro’s legal troubles a “witch hunt” and connected them to a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, which brought renewed attention to Bolsonaro’s trial. According to observers, the U. S. might put additional strain on their already strained diplomatic ties by announcing new sanctions against Brazil following the trial.
On Tuesday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is in charge of the case, declared that Bolsonaro was the head of a criminal organization and a coup plot, and he voted in favor of his conviction.
One of the former president’s sons, lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, discussed his father on social media on Thursday. Rather than bringing up his father’s conviction, however, he advocated for his amnesty, which he is pursuing through Congress.
He declared, “It is time to just do what is right, nothing less.”.
Fux disapproved of de Moraes and the other two justices in his dissenting opinion on Wednesday.
According to Fux, “no one can be punished for cogitation.”. The actions of organized groups with the means and strategic ability to challenge and overthrow the current government are what lead to a coup d’état, not sporadic acts or disorganized protests. “”.
In addition, Lúcia voted earlier Thursday to convict Bolsonaro of organized crime in relation to the purported coup attempt.
When de Moraes interrupted Lúcia’s vote, she played a number of videos showing Bolsonaro in front of thousands of supporters in 2021 and 2023, pleading with him to resign from the Supreme Court. De Moraes also displayed video of some of the damage that occurred inside the court’s headquarters following the Jan riots. 8. 2023.
After Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, he was accused of trying to illegally stay in power.
Bolsonaro was charged by prosecutors with a number of offenses, including attempting to stage a coup, belonging to an armed criminal organization, attempting to violently abolish the democratic rule of law, being involved in violent acts, and posing a serious threat to the state’s property and listed cultural heritage.
Lula stated in an interview with local TV Band early Thursday, ahead of the trial, that “there are hundreds of pieces of evidence that Bolsonaro attempted a coup in this country.”.
Bolsonaro is still a significant political figure in Brazil in spite of his legal troubles.
In a different case, the far-right politician had previously been barred from seeking public office until 2030. The heir he selects is anticipated to run against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the following year.
Bolsonaro’s supporters may be compelled by the ruling to ask Congress for some form of amnesty for him.
As the court panel considers Bolsonaro’s sentence, the troubled former leader may be under more pressure to select a political successor who will most likely run against Lula in the general elections the following year.
“There is a God in heaven who sees everything, who loves justice and detests injustice,” Michelle Bolsonaro, the former first lady, posted on social media.
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