The five-judge panel of Brazil's supreme court (STF) found former president Jair Bolsonaro guilty of plotting an attempted coup.
While one of the five judges has yet to finish voting, three judges have voted to convict Bolsonaro, arguing he was the main orchestrator and beneficiary of a plot to ensure he stayed in power despite losing the election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022. The plot included the 8 January 2023 storming of government buildings in the capital Brasilia and plans to kill his political opponents.
Bolsonaro faced charges of armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d'état, damage qualified by violence and serious threat, and damage to government assets.
Judge Luiz Fux was the only supreme court justice to dissent, saying the case should be annulled because the court had an "absolute lack of jurisdiction" hearing the case because the defendants "had already lost their [political] positions".
Although Fux's vote will not be enough to save Bolsonaro from conviction and sentencing, it might boost efforts from Bolsonaro supporters in congress to vote to grant the former president amnesty. Other congressional leaders have so far said that they will not move the requests for a vote, however.
Bolsonaro stood trial with seven other defendants, including his running mate in the 2022 election Walter Braga Netto; former minister and army general Augusto Heleno; former justice minister Anderson Torres; former defense minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira; and top Bolsonaro aide Mauro Cid. All other defendants were also found guilty.
The fifth judge, Cristiano Zanin, will cast his vote later today. The sentence is expected to be handed down Friday.
Bolsonaro is already under strict house arrest for failing to comply to past STF orders. His defense lawyers told reporters they will request that he serve his sentence under house arrest, arguing that his health is fragile.
Bolsonaro and the other defendants can face up to 43 years in jail each.
US response
US president Donald Trump used the trial against Bolsonaro as reason for imposing 50pc tariffs on Brazil in early August, despite the country having a trade deficit with the US. A ally of Bolsonaro from his first term in office, Trump called the trial a "witch hunt" and sanctioned Brazil supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes for his role in bringing the case against Bolsonaro.
Earlier this week White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump is "unafraid to use the [US'] economic and military might" to "protect free speech around the world".
"Freedom of speech is arguably the most important issue of our time", she said. "We have taken significant action with regards to Brazil in the form of both sanctions and also leveraging the use of tariffs."
Brazil's federal government said it "condemns the use of economic assessments or threats of force against our democracy" and "the attempt by anti-democratic forces to use foreign governments to coerce national institutions", in response to Leavitt's statements.
