Brazil’s Supreme Court finds Jair Bolsonaro guilty of coup charges | World News

The majority of a panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices on Thursday voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.
Bolsonaro guilty of coup charges
The far-right politician who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022 was found guilty on five counts three members of a five-justice panel. The latest to rule was Cármen Lúcia on Thursday, a day after another justice, Luiz Fux, disagreed and voted to acquit the ex-president of all charges.
Justices of the Brazilian Supreme Court meet for the verdict and sentencing phase of a trial for those charged in an alleged coup plot to keep Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro in office after his 2022 election defeat. (Photo: AP)
There is only one pending justice to vote. Once all five justices have voted, the panel will decide on Bolsonaro’s sentence, which could amount to decades in prison.
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What judges said
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organization, and voted in favor of convicting him. Earlier Thursday, Lúcia also voted to convict Bolsonaro of organized crime in connection with the alleged coup attempt.
Bolsonaro denied all charges
The 70-year-old former president is currently under house arrest. His lawyers have said that they will appeal the verdict to the full Supreme Court of 11 justices.
Bolsonaro is accused of attempting to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Prosecutors charged him with a total of five charges. They include 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 led heritage.
Bolsonaro, who has denied any wrongdoing, has not attended the court and has sent his lawyers.Story continues below this ad
The trial has been followed a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him.
A supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro protests his Supreme Court trial in Sao Paulo. (Photo: AP)
Some have taken to the streets to back the far-right leader, who had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a separate case.
Bolsonaro, who has been described as the ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ has gained the support of the US President. Trump, who termed Bolsonaro’s trial a “ witch hunt,” had also imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods.