By MAURICIO SAVARESE and GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA, Associated Press
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — 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.
Bolsonaro, who has always denied any wrongdoing, is currently under house arrest in Brasilia. He can appeal the ruling.
Four of the five justices reviewing the case in the panel found the far-right politician guilty on five counts, in a ruling that will deepen political divisions and was expected to prompt a backlash from the U.S. government. It makes Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.
The U.S. government immediately criticized the ruling and warned it would respond.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy” with the conviction. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, he said he’d always found Bolsonaro to be “outstanding.”
And later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on his X account that Trump’s government “will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.”
Trump’s administration had already applied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods, which it said was in reaction to the process against Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro can appeal ruling
The sentence doesn’t mean he will immediately go to prison. The court panel has now up to 60 days to publish the ruling. Once it does, Bolsonaro’s lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.
One of the justices, Cármen Lúcia, said she was convinced by the evidence the Attorney General’s Office presented against the former president. “He is the instigator, the leader of an organization that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power,” she said.
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son, said on X the conviction was a “supreme persecution” and that history would show they were on the right side.
Trial has divided Brazilians
The trial has been followed by a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him. Some have taken to the streets to back the far-right leader who contends he is being politically persecuted.
Bolsonaro’s trial got renewed attention after Trump linked a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally’s legal situation, calling it a “ witch hunt.” Observers say the U.S. might announce new sanctions against Brazil after the trial, further straining their fragile diplomatic relations.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organization, and voted in favor of convicting him.
Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of the former president’s sons, on Thursday talk about his father on his social media platforms. But instead of mentioning his father’s conviction, he pushed for his amnesty, which he is seeking through Congress.
“It is time to do nothing less than what is correct, just,” he said.
Bolsonaro remains a political force
Fux, in his dissenting opinion on Wednesday, disagreed with de Moraes and the other two justices.
“No one can be punished for cogitation,” Fux said. “A coup d’état does not result from isolated acts or individual demonstrations lacking coordination, but rather from the actions of organized groups, equipped with resources and strategic capacity to confront and replace the incumbent power.”
Earlier Thursday, Lúcia also voted to convict Bolsonaro of organized crime in connection with the alleged coup attempt.
Lúcia allowed de Moraes to interrupt her vote and play several videos that showed Bolsonaro in front of thousands of supporters between 2021 and 2023 urging him to leave the Supreme Court. De Moraes also showed footage of some destruction inside the court’s headquarters after the riots on Jan. 8, 2023.
Bolsonaro faced accusations he attempted to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with counts including attempting to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, as well as being implicated in violence and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.
“Bolsonaro attempted a coup in this country, and there is hundreds of pieces of evidence,” Lula said early Thursday in an interview with local TV Band, ahead of the trial.
Bolsonaro already barred from running for office
Despite his legal woes, Bolsonaro remains a powerful political player in Brazil.
The far-right politician had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a separate case. He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge Lula next year.
The ruling may push Bolsonaro’s allied lawmakers to seek some amnesty for him through Congress.
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.
“There is a God in heaven who sees everything, who loves justice and hates iniquity,” former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro wrote on social media.
Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville, in Washington, D.C., contributed with this report.
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