The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after being found guilty of plotting a military coup.
A panel of five Supreme Court justices handed down the sentence just hours after convicting the former leader. They ruled he was guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Four of the justices found him guilty while one voted to acquit him. Bolsonaro's lawyers have called the sentence absurdly excessive and stated that they would file the appropriate appeals.
The Supreme Court panel also barred him from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence. Bolsonaro, who was put under house arrest after being deemed a flight risk, did not attend this final phase of the trial in person.
Throughout his trial, Bolsonaro claimed it was designed to prevent him from running in the 2026 presidential election, referring to it as a witch hunt. US President Donald Trump has expressed similar sentiments, claiming the legal actions against Bolsonaro mirror his own experiences.
The conviction has drawn international reactions, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticizing the ruling and suggesting that the US may respond to what he calls a witch hunt.
Bolsonaro, 70, is now facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison with his lawyers expected to argue for his sentence to be reduced and for his house arrest to continue.
The court concluded that Bolsonaro was involved in a plot to stay in power well before the election and proposed a coup to military commanders while casting doubt on the electoral system. The justices noted that although the plot failed to garner enough military support, it led to significant unrest, including the storming of government buildings by his supporters on January 8, 2023. The quick restoration of order resulted in over 1,500 arrests.
The justices voiced concerns about the threat to Brazil's democracy, with Justice Cármen Lúcia emphasizing that the nation's democratic order had been endangered.
As Bolsonaro's legal team prepares to appeal, they may face challenges as the court's decision was supported by a considerable majority, making overturning the verdict difficult.
