Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting coup

Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted former President Bolsonaro for masterminding a 2022 coup plot to overturn the presidential election. The 70-year-old faces 27 years and 3 months in prison, with a lifetime ban from public office. Four of five justices voted to convict, citing evidence of a months-long conspiracy.

Bolsonaro’s plan involved declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the Supreme Court, and granting the military sweeping powers. Documents revealed an assassination plot targeting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his running mate, and Justice Alexandre de Moraes. “It’s impossible to trivialize this return to dark moments,” Moraes stated.