Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting Brazil coup

Authored by bbc.co.uk and submitted by SkullDump

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.

But he has in the past said it was designed to prevent him from running in the 2026 presidential election - even though he had already been barred from public office on separate charges. He has also called it a "witch hunt".

His words have previously been echoed by US President Donald Trump, who imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods, framing them as retaliation for Bolsonaro's prosecution.

Reacting to the guilty verdict, Trump said he found it "very surprising" and compared it to his own experience: "That's very much like they tried to do with me. But they didn't get away with it at all."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Brazil's Supreme Court had "unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro" and threatened to "respond accordingly to this witch hunt".

Brazil's foreign ministry reacted swiftly, posting on X that "threats like the one made today by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement that attacks a Brazilian authority and ignores the facts and the compelling evidence on record, will not intimidate our democracy".

caffiend98 on September 11st, 2025 at 23:00 UTC »

Brazil was smart enough not to put Merrick Garland in charge of the investigation.

SkullDump on September 11st, 2025 at 22:59 UTC »

And congrats to Brasil for not surrendering to the pressure imposed by Trump in order to try and save his little friend.

Complex-Poet-6809 on September 11st, 2025 at 22:56 UTC »

Good, Brazil leading by example.