Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is facing an imminent prison sentence after the country’s Supreme Court on Friday dismissed his appeal against a 27-year jail term for attempting to overturn the 2022 presidential election results.
Bolsonaro, who lost the election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was convicted in September for orchestrating a failed plot to prevent the transfer of power. Prosecutors said the plan involved efforts to delegitimise the electoral system, justify military intervention, and even a conspiracy to assassinate President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
A panel of Supreme Court justices unanimously upheld the conviction last week, though the verdict only became official at midnight on Friday. According to court procedures, once the ruling is formally published, expected as early as Monday, Bolsonaro’s legal team will have five days to file a final appeal.
However, this appeal is expected to be swiftly dismissed by Justice de Moraes, who oversees the case. Legal experts say an arrest warrant is typically issued the same day the final judgment is released, meaning Bolsonaro could be taken into custody before the end of November.
The 70-year-old former army captain has maintained his innocence and has been under house arrest since August. Because of medical issues linked to a 2018 stabbing attack, Bolsonaro may request to serve his sentence at home.
Prosecutors argued that Bolsonaro approved the assassination plot, citing evidence including an audio message from federal police agent Wladimir Soares, who claimed members of a hit squad were “ready to kill a lot of people” but that Bolsonaro later backed down.
In the ruling rejecting his appeal, Justice de Moraes reaffirmed that the coup attempt was deliberate, coordinated under Bolsonaro’s leadership, and supported by significant evidence. The judge also referenced Bolsonaro’s role in the January 8 attack on government buildings in Brasília, when his supporters stormed Congress and called for a military takeover.
The court said the 27-year sentence reflected Bolsonaro’s high level of responsibility as president and the grave impact of his actions. His age was already considered as a mitigating factor in sentencing.
In a separate decision on Friday, the same panel of judges voted to advance a criminal case against Bolsonaro’s son, federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States. He is accused of “coercion” for lobbying U.S. officials to impose sanctions in an attempt to influence his father’s trial.
The developments mark one of the most significant legal setbacks yet for the former leader, whose political future now hangs in the balance.
