Overview

• A five-judge Supreme Court panel found Bolsonaro guilty of leading an armed criminal organization and attempting to abolish the democratic rule of law, with Alexandre de Moraes, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia and Cristiano Zanin in the majority and Luiz Fux dissenting.
• The conviction covers five charges linked to a scheme prosecutors say began in 2021 and culminated in the January 8, 2023 ransacking of Brazil’s three branches of government.
• Bolsonaro remains under house arrest, and his lawyers plan to appeal to the full 11-member court, though prevailing jurisprudence generally requires two dissents to open that path.
• The panel also reached guilty verdicts for seven former aides and military figures accused of participating in the plot, according to the court’s majority findings.
• The case is inflaming political and diplomatic tensions, with allies pushing for a congressional amnesty and the United States levying tariffs and sanctions as its leaders condemn the decision.