Overview
- Supreme Court justices in a virtual review have voted to reject Jair Bolsonaro’s appeal of his 27-year, three-month sentence for an attempted coup, with the result to be formalized upon publication of the ruling.
- Once the final judgment is published, the defense has five days to file a new appeal, but legal experts say the lead justice typically issues an arrest warrant the same day, making late November imprisonment possible.
- Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August and was convicted for orchestrating efforts to overturn the 2022 election, with prosecutors citing plans that included assassinations of President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
- A separate five-member panel reached the three votes needed to accept prosecutors’ indictment of Eduardo Bolsonaro for coercion tied to alleged efforts to enlist foreign pressure, making a trial likely even as voting formally remains open until Nov. 25.
- U.S. actions feature in the case record, with President Donald Trump imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports and sanctioning Justice de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, while Eduardo Bolsonaro, currently in the United States, acknowledges seeking U.S. support and denies any crime.