Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after Brazil’s Supreme Court found him guilty of orchestrating a failed military coup to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat.

In a 4-1 ruling delivered on Wednesday, a five-member judicial panel convicted the far-right leader, also banning him from holding any public office for the next eight years. Bolsonaro, currently under house arrest due to concerns he may flee, did not appear in court for the sentencing.

Bolsonaro’s legal team condemned the decision as “absurdly excessive” and announced plans to appeal. This sentence is not just disproportionate—it’s politically motivated,” said one of his attorneys.

The former president has repeatedly dismissed the charges as part of a “witch hunt” aimed at derailing any future political ambitions, despite already being disqualified from running in 2026 over unrelated electoral offenses.

The court ruling has sparked international reaction, particularly from the United States.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a vocal Bolsonaro ally, described the conviction as “very surprising,” drawing parallels to his own legal troubles in the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went further, denouncing the decision as unjust and warning of potential repercussions for U.S.–Brazil relations.

In response, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry issued a sharp rebuttal, accusing Rubio of making “threats” and asserting that the country’s judicial system “cannot be intimidated. This verdict is based on compelling evidence and reflects Brazil’s commitment to the rule of law, the ministry said in a statement.

As Bolsonaro faces a long road through the appeals process, the ruling marks a dramatic fall from power for the controversial ex-leader and raises further questions about Brazil’s democratic stability amid rising political polarization.