Updated Thursday 7.45 p.m.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after being found guilty for the attempted coup in January 2023 against sitting president Luiz Inácio “Lula” Da Silva. The Supreme Court reached a final 4-1 decision with the votes of judges Cármen Lucía and Cristiano Zanin on Thursday.

The court had already reached the required three-vote majority to found Bolsonaro guilty after Justice Lúcia voted for a conviction earlier on Thursday.

In the statement she read justifying her vote, Lúcia said that the coup plot was a reminder of Brazil’s past that “hurt” her, referencing the years in which the country was under a dictatorship. According to Brazilian news agency Agência Brasil, she went on to say that the storming of the government buildings on January 8, 2023, was not a “trival” incident but rather the result of a “series of events,” and that there was “conclusive evidence” pointing to the former president’s involvement. 

“[The defendants] developed and implemented a progressive and systematic plan to attack democratic institutions with the aim of harming the legitimate alternation of power in the 2022 elections and undermining the exercise of other constituted powers, especially the judiciary,” Lúcia explained.   

The court proceedings

The Brazilian Supreme Court began its trial hearings against Bolsonaro and seven other defendants involved in the coup attempt last week. The other accused are Walter Braga Netto (Bolsonaro’s running mate in the 2022 elections), Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (former Defense Minister), Augusto Heleno (former head of the Institutional Security Office), Anderson Torres (former Justice Minister), Alexandre Ramagen (former head of Brazilian intelligence agency ABIN), Almir Garnier (former Navy commander), and Mauro Cid (former aide-de-camp to Bolsonaro). 

In the third hearing on Tuesday, Federal Supreme Court Justices Alexandre de Moraes — who is also case rapporteur — and Flávio Dino voted to convict all defendants. 

On Wednesday, Justice Luiz Fux called for the annulment of the case due to what he called an “absolute lack of jurisdiction” for the court on the investigation. He voted to only convict Cid and Netto and acquit Bolsonaro and the other five, leaving the tally against the former president 2-1.

According to Brazilian news agency Agência Brasil, Fux justified his vote by arguing that the competence in the case does not fall under the Supreme Court but rather the federal court. He also cited the “tsunami of data” involved in the proceedings, adding that the court had not had the time to process the over 70 terabytes of information they were provided.

The charges

Bolsonaro and his allies were being tried for five crimes: leading an armed criminal organization, attempting a violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempting a coup, aggravated damages by violence and serious threat, and deterioration of listed property. 

In February, Brazil’s General Prosecutors’ Office formally charged Bolsonaro for plotting a scheme that included the attempted overthrowing and murdering of current President Lula da Silva following the 2022 election.

Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco filed the charges before the Federal Supreme Court. The presentation initially included over 30 people. After this, the Supreme Court decided to take Bolsonaro and seven of his allies to trial. Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest after Justice De Moraes ruled that he “repeatedly failed to comply with precautionary measures.” He is also being monitored with an electronic anklet.