Brazil’s Supreme Court says it will hand down a verdict and sentence in former President Jair Bolsonaro’s coup trial early next month, in a case that has polarised the country and drawn in the ex-leader’s ally, United States President Donald Trump.
The court announced on Friday that the five-justice panel overseeing the proceedings will deliver decisions on the five charges between September 2 and 12. A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years.
Bolsonaro, under house arrest since August 4, is accused of orchestrating a plot to cling to power after losing the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He denies the allegations.
Prosecutors allege Bolsonaro led a criminal organisation that sought to overturn the election results.
The case includes accusations that the plot involved plans to kill Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is presiding over the trial. They have presented messages, handwritten notes and other material they say document the conspiracy.
Defence lawyers counter that no coup attempt was carried out and that Bolsonaro allowed the presidential handover to take place, undermining claims he tried to block it.
The five charges against Bolsonaro include attempting a coup, participation in an armed criminal organisation, attempted violent abolition of the democratic order, and two counts linked to destruction of state property.
Two separate five-justice panels operate within Brazil’s top court. Justice de Moraes, a frequent target of Bolsonaro’s supporters, sits on the panel hearing the case. Although Bolsonaro appointed two justices during his 2019–2022 presidency, both serve on the other panel.
The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia was one of the targets of a rioting mob of supporters known as “Bolsonaristas”, who raided government buildings in January 2023 as they urged the military to depose Lula, an insurrection attempt that evoked Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
The rioting also prompted comparisons to Brazil’s 1964 military coup, a dark era that Bolsonaro has openly praised.
The trial has captivated Brazil’s divided public. Tensions deepened when Trump linked a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports to his ally’s legal battle, calling the proceedings a “witch hunt” and describing Bolsonaro as an “honest man” facing “political execution”.
The Trump administration has also sanctioned Justice de Moraes and imposed further trade restrictions on Brazil, a move widely criticised in the country as an assault on national sovereignty.
A recent Datafolha poll found more than half of Brazilians support the decision to place Bolsonaro under house arrest, while 53 percent reject the idea that he is being politically persecuted.
