Jair Bolsonaro stares at decades in prison as Brazil Supreme Court votes to convict ex-president for attempted coup

The legal age of a venire of Brazilian sublime margaret court justices on th voted to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro of organized crime as part of his trial for allegedly attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.

Justice Cármen Lúcia voted in favor of the first count of organized crime, which two other justices had already voted in favor of. Lúcia still has to vote on the count of attempting a coup.

Once all five justices have voted, the panel will decide on Bolsonaro’s sentence, which could amount to decades in prison. 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, who has denied any wrongdoing, has not attended the court and has only sent his lawyers.

The 70-year-old Bolsonaro faces accusations he attempted to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro 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 listed heritage.

Since the trial began in 2023, Lúcia has followed de Moraes in almost every decision. Zanin, who is Lula’s former attorney, has also sided with de Moraes in most convictions so far, but disagreed with him on penalties he deemed too harsh for other participants in the coup plot.

Justice Luiz Fux on Wednesday disagreed with his two peers who voted a day earlier, on Tuesday, saying there was not enough evidence against Bolsonaro in any of the charges. Fux took more than 13 hours to explain his vote before the panel of justices — and despite what appeared to be upset looks from other justices, there were no challenges to his lengthy delivery.

On related issues, Fux ruled against two allies of the former president. He helped form a majority decision against former aid-de-camp Mauro Cid and former chief of staff Walter Braga Netto on the charge of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.

If Bolsonaro is found guilty, a full debate on sentencing is expected for Friday. After that, the embattled former leader could face increased pressure to pick a political heir to likely challenge Lula in the general elections next year. A conviction could also compel allied lawmakers to seek some amnesty for the former president through Congress.

In 2023, Brazil ’s top electoral court barred Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030 over what the court said was his abuse of power.

Fux had previously also lobbied that the Supreme Court throw out the Bolsonaro case, arguing that it was not within its jurisdiction. That stance gives the far-right former leader a higher chance in a future appeal and also opens way for him to score political points with supporters.

Legal experts say the panel's jurisprudence requires at least two dissenting votes in a trial like Bolsonaro's so that he could appeal to the full, 11-justice Supreme Court.

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