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17h ago

Majority of Brazil’s Top Court Panel Convicts Bolsonaro of Coup Plot

The decisive third vote triggers sentencing deliberations once the final vote is recorded.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the garage of his residence in Brasilia on September 11, 2025. A Brazilian judge on September 10 returned the first not-guilty vote in the coup-plotting trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, shifting all eyes on the last two of his colleagues left to vote following two guilty findings. The 70-year-old far-right ex-leader risks a prison sentence of more than 40 years if found guilty of seeking to claw back power after his defeat in 2022 elections to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Photo by Sergio Lima / AFP) (Photo by SERGIO LIMA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux arrives to attend the verdict and sentencing phase of a trial for those charged in an alleged coup plot to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro in office after his 2022 election defeat, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil's Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, Judge Carmen Lucia, Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux, Judge Flavio Dino and Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Cristiano Zanin attend a session during the final phase of the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, on charges of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election, in Brasilia, Brazil, September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Overview

  • Justice Cármen Lúcia cast the deciding vote on Thursday, joining Alexandre de Moraes and Flávio Dino in finding Jair Bolsonaro guilty on all five charges.
  • Justice Luiz Fux voted to acquit and questioned the court’s jurisdiction; Justice Cristiano Zanin has yet to vote and the panel is set to take up sentencing on Friday.
  • The counts include attempting to stage a coup, leading an armed criminal organization and attempting to violently abolish democratic rule, with potential penalties totaling roughly 40 to 43 years.
  • Bolsonaro remains under house arrest in Brasília, and his lawyers say they will appeal to the full 11-justice court, though legal experts note such appeals typically require two dissenting votes.
  • Allies are pressing Congress for an amnesty, and the U.S. under President Trump has sanctioned Justice Alexandre de Moraes and imposed a 50% tariff on many Brazilian imports.