Overview
- Six military personnel and one police officer were found guilty of planning President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 murder, receiving sentences of 16 to 24 years, while two others received shorter prison terms.
- Justice Alexandre de Moraes delivered the ruling as part of the broader case tied to efforts to subvert the 2022 election result.
- Prosecutors argued the coup attempt collapsed because it lacked support from the top ranks of the armed forces.
- Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in September of leading a criminal organization to overturn the vote and was sentenced to 27 years and three months, and his defense filed an appeal in late October.
- The prosecutions follow the January 2023 storming of Brazil’s Congress, presidential offices and Supreme Court by Bolsonaro supporters, an episode widely compared to the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.