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A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison Thursday after convicting him of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.
The far-right politician who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022 was found guilty on five counts by four members of a five-justice panel. The latest to rule were Cármen Lúcia and Cristiano Zanin on Thursday, a day after another justice, Luiz Fux, disagreed and voted to acquit the ex-president of all charges
Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest in Brasilia.
His lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict to the full Supreme Court of 11 justices.
The ruling and sentence could deepen political divisions and prompt a backlash from the United States government.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was “very unhappy” with the conviction. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House before the sentence was announced, he said he had always found Bolsonaro to be “outstanding.”
Bolsonaro, who denied any wrongdoing, did not attended court and sent his lawyers.
Trump called trial a ‘witch hunt’
The trial was widely followed in a divided Brazil, with some people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him. Some took to the streets to back the far-right leader.
The trial got renewed attention after Trump linked a 50 per cent tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally’s legal situation, calling it a “witch hunt.”
The conviction, he said Thursday, is “very bad for Brazil.”
Bolsonaro faced accusations he attempted to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with a total of five charges. They included attempting to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, as well as being implicated in violence and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.
Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of the former president’s sons, talked about his father Thursday on his social media platforms. But instead of mentioning his father’s conviction, he pushed for his amnesty, which he is seeking through Congress.
“It is time to do nothing less than what is correct, just,” he said.
Despite his legal woes, Bolsonaro remains a powerful political player in Brazil.
The far-right politician had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a separate case. He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge President Lula da Silva next year.
The ruling may push Bolsonaro’s allied lawmakers to seek some amnesty for him through Congress.