Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro will have to stand trial for an alleged attempt to stay in power illegally after losing his 2023 reelection bid, the country’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday. If found guilty, he could face up to forty years in jail.

“The responsibility for the acts detrimental to the democratic order falls on a criminal organization led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, based on an authoritarian project of power rooted in the very structure of the state and with strong influence of military sectors,” explained the court’s top Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The ruling was unanimously approved by the court’s five members.

Charges include violent abolition of the rule of law, attempted coup d’état, armed criminal organization, and aggravated damage to public property.

The court also sent seven of Bolsonaro’s allies to trial: his former Chief of Staff Walter Braga Netto, former Security Chief of Staff Augusto Heleno (both of whom are army generals), former top spy Alexandre Ramagem, former Justice Minister Anderson Torres, former Navy Commander Almir Garnier, former Defense Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, and Bolsonaro’s aid Mauro Cid.

Protests calling for intervention by the Armed Forces, including road blockades and encampments in front of army barracks, began as soon as Brazil’s current President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva won the elections in October 2022. On January 8, 2023, Bolsonaro supporters attacked three federal government buildings in Brasilia, demanding the military take power and depose Da Silva, accusing him of fraud.

Other plans allegedly orchestrated by the group included the assassinations of Da Silva and Moraes.

In February, the General Prosecutors’ Office formally charged Bolsonaro and 33 others — including former public officials and military members — over the alleged scheme. The Supreme Court will decide the fate of the other 26 accused on May 5.

The Brazilian judiciary had also named Fernando Cerimedo, chief digital strategist for Javier Milei’s presidential campaign, as a co-conspirator in its investigation. However, he was not charged.

“The court is trying to prevent me from running in 2026, because they want to prevent me from standing free in the elections because they know that, in a fair contest, there is no candidate capable of beating me,” Bolsonaro posted on X in response to the justices’ ruling. “Everyone says the process will be concluded by the end of 2025, even though there is no precedent for such speed in a case of this size.”

At least 500 Brazilians who participated in the 2023 storming of government offices fled to Argentina, according to a lawyer representing some of them. They sought political asylum in the neighboring country, citing Javier Milei’s support for Bolsonaro. Last year, however, Argentine Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas requested the arrest of 61 of them, who had already been convicted in Brazil. Five were arrested, judicial sources confirmed to the Herald.