Bolsonaro Faces Imminent Prison After Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of 27‑Year Coup Conviction

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of legal avenues after a Supreme Court panel rejected his appeal of a 27-year, three-month sentence tied to a failed coup attempt and related crimes, including alleged assassination plots.

Bolsonaro, who lost the 2022 election, was convicted in September of actions intended to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office. Prosecutors say the scheme included plans to discredit the vote, justify a military intervention and even assassinate President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and a senior Supreme Court justice.

A panel of Supreme Court judges voted unanimously to uphold the conviction; the decision became final at midnight on Friday. A court source told AFP that once the hearing result is formally published—possibly as soon as Monday—the defence will have five days to lodge another appeal. That subsequent filing can be rapidly dismissed by lead judge Alexandre de Moraes, who would then issue the final judgment and typically sign an arrest warrant the same day.

Legal experts estimate, based on procedural timelines, that Bolsonaro could be taken into custody in the last week of November. The 70-year-old former army captain has been under house arrest since August and denies wrongdoing. Because he still suffers health effects from a 2018 stabbing, he may seek to serve his sentence under house arrest if imprisoned.

'Ready to kill'

The prosecution presented evidence they say shows a deliberate, organised attempt to overturn the election results and to coerce the military and other institutions into removing Lula from power. Prosecutors also described a plot to assassinate Lula, Vice President Alckmin and Judge Moraes—an operation they say Bolsonaro authorised.

“We were ready to kill a lot of people,”

said federal police agent Wladimir Soares in an audio released by the Supreme Court, describing a suspected hit squad. “We were only awaiting orders from the president, but he backed down,” he added.

In denying the appeal, Judge Moraes reaffirmed that the available evidence supports the conclusion of a deliberate coup attempt orchestrated under Bolsonaro's direction. He also highlighted Bolsonaro's role in inciting the January 8 attack on buildings housing Brazil's congress and other democratic institutions, when rioters demanded a military takeover to oust Lula.

Moraes explained that the 27 years and three months sentence reflects Bolsonaro's high level of culpability as president and the gravity and impact of the crimes, while noting that age was already considered as a mitigating factor. Three other judges on the panel also rejected the appeal.

On the same day, a majority of the panel voted to move forward with a criminal case against Bolsonaro's son, federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, on charges of coercion. Eduardo, who currently lives in the United States, was charged by Brazil's chief prosecutor in September over alleged lobbying for U.S. sanctions intended to influence the outcome of his father's trial.