JUST IN: Jair Bolsonaro Convicted By Brazilian Supreme Court Of Attempting A Coup Following Election

A majority of a Brazilian Supreme Court panel has convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro of attempting to stage a coup to remain in power after the 2022 election.

Three of five justices on the panel voted to convict Bolsonaro on all five counts he faced.

The former president, who has been under house arrest since August, could face up to 40 years in prison.

Breaking news: Brazil’s supreme court has voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup d’état, finding that the hard-right populist and Donald Trump ally sought to illegally remain in power after losing a 2022 election. https://t.co/xmJygD2hAa pic.twitter.com/HjxplhbCrU

— Financial Times (@FT) September 11, 2025

CNN has more:

Bolsonaro has been charged with plotting a coup d’état, taking part in an armed criminal organization, attempting to abolish Brazil’s democratic order by force, committing violent acts against state institutions and damaging protected public property during the storming of government buildings by his supporters on January 8, 2023.

Part of the coup plot, prosecutors alleged, involved a plan to potentially use explosives, weapons of war or poison to assassinate leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw Bolsonaro’s trial.

Bolsonaro and other defendants in the trial have denied wrongdoing.

The evidence against Bolsonaro largely centered on how he tried to stay in power after losing the presidential election in 2022 to Lula da Silva. Federal police said Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of a plan to overturn the election results, pressure the military to intervene, and even create a parallel “crisis management office” to run the government.

“Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted to acquit Jair Bolsonaro of forming a criminal organization and to annul his trial over jurisdiction, diverging from his peers,” Mario Nawfal wrote.

“The case, centered on accusations Bolsonaro plotted a coup to overturn the 2022 election, is being decided by a five-judge panel,” he added.

Fux took 13 hours to read his dissent and said the case should be heard by the full 11-member Supreme Court.

Footage below:

BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT JUDGE VOTES TO ANNUL BOLSONARO CASE

Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted to acquit Jair Bolsonaro of forming a criminal organization and to annul his trial over jurisdiction, diverging from his peers.

The case, centered on accusations Bolsonaro… https://t.co/JDmyixwn9a pic.twitter.com/qEBsRiDrts

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 10, 2025

However, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes held nothing back in his ruling against Bolsonaro.

A majority of judges on a Brazil Supreme Court panel found Jair Bolsonaro guilty of attempting a coup after his 2022 election defeat, making him the country’s first former president convicted of such a crime. https://t.co/liFTEUn3qY

— Bloomberg (@business) September 11, 2025

NPR explained:

Bolsonaro’s allies view Moraes’ handling of the trial and broader crackdown on disinformation in Brazil as heavy-handed. In response, the Trump administration has slapped Moraes with sanctions, stripped him of his U.S. visa and imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods.

Moraes accused Bolsonaro of orchestrating efforts to undermine democracy, repeatedly calling him “the leader of a criminal organization.” He said Bolsonaro began laying the groundwork for a coup in 2021, spreading disinformation about Brazil’s voting system and encouraging actions that led to the Jan. 8, 2023, riots in Brasília.

Moraes pointed to “overwhelming evidence” of a plot by elite army personnel to assassinate then-President-elect Lula and Moraes himself, noting that part of the plan — poisoning Lula and shooting Moraes — was printed inside the presidential palace. In court, the justices were shown the document, codenamed Operation Green and Yellow Dagger, with key passages highlighted.

“This wasn’t drafted in secret by terrorists,” Moraes said. “It was written in Brazil’s government headquarters, while Bolsonaro was in office.”

Two Brazilian Supreme Court justices voted to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro of leading a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election, as they cast the first votes in the final phase of the ex-president’s trial https://t.co/3QqpVKYkmu pic.twitter.com/gItQWJ2lNP

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 10, 2025

Bolsonaro would appeal a guilty verdict, and other defendants have also denied the charges, NPR noted.