Brazil is witnessing a historic legal showdown as former President Jair Bolsonaro stands trial before the Supreme Court, accused of orchestrating a coup attempt to overturn the 2022 election results. The proceedings, which have captivated the nation and drawn global attention, mark the first time in Brazilian history that a former president and high-ranking military officials face such grave charges related to the subversion of democracy.
The trial, unfolding in the capital Brasília, has already seen two out of five Supreme Court justices vote to convict Bolsonaro. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, delivered a scathing assessment, asserting that Bolsonaro led a “criminal organization” intent on breaking the democratic rule of law. According to AP, de Moraes argued, “We can’t forget that little by little Brazil almost returned to a dictatorship that lasted 20 years. That was because of a criminal organization built by a political group that doesn’t know how to lose elections.” Justice Flávio Dino echoed this sentiment, also voting for conviction and reinforcing the damning case against the former president.
The charges against Bolsonaro are sweeping: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of democratic rule, and two counts related to destruction of state property. The most serious charge alone could result in a prison sentence of up to 12 years, but if convicted on all counts, Bolsonaro could face over 40 years behind bars, as reported by BBC.
Central to the prosecution’s case is evidence that Bolsonaro and his allies cast repeated doubts on Brazil’s electronic voting system, drafted a decree to suspend the 2022 election results, and, according to de Moraes, even plotted to kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his vice president, and de Moraes himself. The plan, codenamed Operation Green and Yellow Dagger, was allegedly written inside the presidential palace while Bolsonaro was still in office. “This was written in the Brazilian government headquarters, at the same time that President Jair Bolsonaro was there,” de Moraes revealed, presenting a document that outlined the chilling details of the plot.
The attempted coup, prosecutors argue, culminated in the violent storming of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters on January 8, 2023—just one week after Lula’s inauguration. Over 1,500 people were arrested in the aftermath, and the nation was left reeling from the near-collapse of its democratic institutions.
Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022, has vehemently denied all wrongdoing. He has not attended the court sessions, citing ongoing health issues related to a 2018 stabbing, and remains under house arrest in Brasília, wearing an ankle monitor. His legal team, led by Celso Vilardi, insists that the proceedings are politically motivated. “Bolsonaro did not act against the democratic rule of law,” Vilardi told the justices, emphasizing that the former president had ordered a transition of power to Lula and that the controversial decree to suspend the election outcome was never actually issued. “The planning is not the execution. No matter how detailed the planning may be, it is the act of violence that actually consummates the crime,” Vilardi argued, as quoted by AP.
Yet, de Moraes countered, “The mere attempt—especially because the completion will not allow anyone to be held responsible—consummates the crime” of a coup. He further stated, “A series of executive acts were carried out aimed at breaking the democratic rule of law and perpetuating power through a coup d’état.”
On September 10, 2025, the trial took an unexpected turn when Justice Luiz Fux, the third judge to cast his vote, broke ranks with his colleagues. Fux voted to annul the case against Bolsonaro, arguing that the Supreme Court’s five-judge panel lacked jurisdiction because Bolsonaro was no longer in office. According to Reuters, Fux maintained that the full Supreme Court of 11 justices, which includes two Bolsonaro appointees, should have heard the case. He also sided with the defense’s claim that they were not given adequate time to review the massive trove of evidence—approximately 70 terabytes of documents. “I’m not an expert in this area, but the volume reached 70 terabytes—I couldn’t believe it, because that’s billions of pages,” Fux remarked, highlighting what he described as a “tsunami of data” that hindered the defense’s preparation.
This divergence has injected fresh tension into an already polarized case. The nation remains split, with Bolsonaro’s supporters alleging bias in the five-member panel—pointing to justices’ ties to President Lula—while critics insist that Brazil’s institutions must act decisively to protect democracy. The trial’s outcome could have far-reaching implications, not only for Bolsonaro’s future but for the integrity of Brazil’s democratic system.
The stakes are high. If convicted, Bolsonaro’s political career could be finished—he is already barred from running for office until 2030 due to a separate case involving the spread of unfounded claims about Brazil’s voting system. Nevertheless, Bolsonaro has signaled his intent to run in the 2026 presidential campaign, and a prolonged appeals process could push the final verdict closer to that election, keeping the nation on edge.
Seven of Bolsonaro’s close allies, including former defense ministers Walter Braga Netto and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, are also on trial, accused of participating in the alleged conspiracy. The proceedings have become a lightning rod for public protest: on September 7, tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters flooded the streets on Brazil’s Independence Day, decrying what they see as a politically motivated attack on their leader.
The international dimension cannot be ignored. U.S. President Donald Trump has openly expressed interest in the trial’s outcome, even linking tariffs on Brazilian goods to Bolsonaro’s judicial fate. According to AP, the U.S. embassy in Brazil reiterated its intention to “continue to take appropriate action” regarding individuals it accuses of abusing authority, further complicating the diplomatic landscape. Meanwhile, President Lula has responded with defiance, declaring that Brazil “will not be anyone’s colony” in a national address—an indirect rebuke to foreign interference.
As the trial continues, with sessions scheduled daily through September 12, the nation waits anxiously for the remaining justices to cast their votes. If one justice requests a longer review, the verdict could be delayed for up to 90 days, though experts suggest this is unlikely. Each justice can recommend a sentence in the event of a conviction, with the final penalty determined by averaging their recommendations if they differ.
Brazil now finds itself at a crossroads. The trial has laid bare the deep divisions within its society, with both sides invoking the specter of the country’s 20-year military dictatorship and the hard-won return to democracy in 1985. Whether the Supreme Court’s verdict will help heal these wounds or deepen them further remains to be seen, but the outcome will undoubtedly shape the nation’s future for years to come.