Trial for the 2022–2023 Brazilian coup plot
The trial for the 2022–2023 coup plot in Brazil is a criminal case of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil concerning the 2022–2023 Brazilian coup plot following the election win of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Jair Bolsonaro. The defendants were convicted in a 4–1 vote for participation in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup d'état, qualified damage, and deterioration of protected heritage property.
Background
Votes
Alexandre de Moraes
On 9 September 2025, justice Alexandre de Moraes, as rapporteur, started the voting process during a 5-hour reading of his decision, voting to convict all defendants. Moraes argued the coup plot began in June 2021, starting when former president Jair Bolsonaro and his allies intentionally attempted to undermine the country's electronic voting system, laying the groundwork for claims of election fraud and a coup if Bolsonaro lost the 2022 presidential election. After losing the election, Moraes sees evidence of Bolsonaro attempting to convince leaders of the armed forces to engage in a military intervention to prevent recently elected Lula from taking power, though failing to gather enough support. Additionally, Moraes points to a plan to assassinate himself, president-elect Lula and vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin, which had been aborted at the last minute. Failing to gather military support, a week after Lula's inauguration as president, Bolsonaro supporters invaded the presidential palace and other government buildings in the 8 January attacks, incited by Bolsonaro himself, Moraes argued.In his vote, Moraes delineated 13 actions and decisions by the defendants which, he argued, constituted a criminal organization in coordinated and premeditated effort to revert the results of the 2022 presidential election and keep Bolsonaro in power. Moraes was lauded for his vote, for narrating the chronology of events years prior to the 8 January attacks which laid the groundwork for it.
Flávio Dino
In the afternoon of 9 September 2025, justice Flávio Dino concurred with the decision, though arguing that some defendants had a higher level of culpability than others, supporting sentencing accordingly. The justice also dismissed claims that the Court was acting in an authoritarian or tyrannical manner or engaging in judicial activism, and poked fun at the recent diplomatic animosity from the United States regarding the case: "do people believe that a tweet from a foreign government's authority will change a ruling of the Court? Does anyone think that a credit card or Mickey are going to change the ruling of the Court?".Luiz Fux
On 10 September 2025, justice Luiz Fux dissented, voting to annul the case on multiple accounts. Fux's vote reading lasted over 10 hours, the third longest in the Court's history, during which he argued, among other things, that:- the Supreme Federal Court did not have the jurisdiction to convict the defendants, as they no longer held office at the time of the trial and, thus, would not be subject to privileged forum; as such, that the Court was "absolutely not competent" to rule this case;
- even if the Court was to have jurisdiction over the case, the defendants should be tried by the full Court and not the 5 member "First Class" panel;
- the Ação Penal itself should be annulled, because the defense was not given enough time to prepare due to the great amount of documents submitted as evidence;
- an attempted coup conviction is meant to punish "conduct that deliberately leads the nation to authoritarian regime with the effective capability to attain that objective in all its necessary aspects"which would not apply in this case;
- the crime of attempted coup, as defined in the penal code, should not apply to self-coups;
- Bolsonaro only "considered" measures to remain in power, but "nothing happened", and that would not be enough to convict the former president;
- the defendants could not be punished for the actions of third-parties in the 8 January attacks;
- the crime of "participation in an armed criminal organization" requires, among other things, a clear organizational structure, roles attributed to the organization's members and the goal of obtaining some form of advantage through illicit means, which would not apply to any of the defendants;
- the crimes of "attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law" and "attempted coup d'état" are the same penal type, and thus only one, if any, should apply.
Criticism
Following Fux's vote, the justice was criticized for a perceived partiality: when ruling against the rioters of the 8 January attacks, Fux convicted hundreds of defendants without bringing up any of the points argued for in this case, including the supposed lack of jurisdiction of the Court or requirements for what constitutes a criminal organization. This raises an apparent contradiction: the justice seemingly believes the Court had jurisdiction over ordinary citizens, but not when ruling over what are deemed to be the figureheads of the movement. Further, since March 2024 it has been the Court's understanding that it holds jurisdiction to rule on cases of people who, at the time of committing a crime, held office.Moreover, among the arguments for the annulment of the case, Fux cited Operation Car Wash, which had convicted Lula but was later overturned in the Court for having been tried in a lower, incorrect jurisdiction. However, at the time, Fux voted against overturning the conviction, arguing that annulling the decision would be a formality that did not justify invalidating the sentencing, as part of a dissenting 3 that lost to 8 concurring justices. Anticipating criticism, during his vote, Fux stated that "to change one's understanding is to evolve" and that "the law is not a museum of principles; it is in constant mutation".
Cármen Lúcia
On 11 September 2025, justice Cármen Lúcia concurred with the rapporteur. Lúcia considered that the attorney's office had shown there had been a collection of measures formulated and executed with the goal of bringing radicalization to the social and political spheres, aiming to fabricate a crisis that would set the stage for a coup. She further noted that the attempt of a coup is self-evidently what the law punishes, as if it is otherwise successful, there would no longer be anyone there to judge it.Cristiano Zanin
Following justice Cármen Lúcia's vote, on 11 September 2025, justice Cristiano Zanin concurred with the rapporteur, voting to convict all defendants. Zanin argued that there was an organized, hierarchical structure with assigned roles and an aim to keep Bolsonaro in power through illicit means, meeting the definition previously described by Fux for the crime of participation in an armed criminal organization. Had justice Zanin dissented, most defendants would have a 3–2 decision, allowing for an appeal that, if accepted, would put the conviction up for a vote at the plenary of the Court, with all 11 justices.Punishment
On 11 September 2025, following the votes for convictions, the justices voted to sentence each of the defendants. They were decided as follows:- Jair Bolsonaro, 27 years and 3 months in prison plus R$376 thousand in fines ;
- Mauro Cid, 2 years in house arrest;
- Augusto Heleno, 21 years in prison plus R$128 thousand in fines ;
- Walter Braga Netto, 26 years in prison plus R$152 thousand in fines ;
- Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, 19 years in prison plus R$128 thousand in fines ;
- Alexandre Ramagem, 16 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison plus R$76 thousand in fines ;
- Almir Garnier Santos, 24 years in prison plus R$152 thousand in fines ;
- Anderson Torres, 24 years in prison plus R$152 thousand in fines.
High Court decision
Group 1: Leadership and Command
The trial of Group 1 took place between 2–11 September 2025 before the First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court and resulted in the conviction of all the 8 defendants.Group 2: Management of Operation Actions
The trial of Group 2 was held between 9–16 December and resulted in the conviction of 5 of the 6 defendants, with only Fernando de Sousa Oliveira being acquitted.Group 3: Execution of Actions
The trial of Group 3 took place between 11–18 November and led to the conviction of 9 of the 10 defendants, with only General Estevan Theophilo being acquitted.Group 4: Production and Dissemination of Disinformation
The trial of Group 4 was held between 14–21 October and resulted in the conviction of all the 7 defendants.Reactions and aftermath
Right- and left-wing world leaders reacted to the trial following its results.Right-wing United States president Donald Trump answered a journalist's question about possible new sanctions on Brazil during a press conference on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, not making it clear whether they would be applied: "I watched the trial and I know him pretty well — foreign leader. I thought he was a good president of Brazil and it's very surprising that could happen, that's very much like they tried to do with me but they didn't get away with it at all." In a message on X, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to Moraes as a "human rights abuser" and accused him of carrying out "political persecutions", saying the court's decision was unfair.
Left-wing Chilean president Gabriel Boric stated that Brazilian democracy demonstrated resilience. Colombian president Gustavo Petro defended Bolsonaro's conviction: "Every coup plotter must be convicted. These are the rules of democracy." The leader of the Workers' Cause Party, Rui Costa Pimenta, described the conviction as a "political trial" with "rigged cards," in which the Supreme Federal Court acts as an arm of the "bourgeoisie." He warned that the decision could create a "martyr" and strengthen the far-right, as well as benefit a "third way" supported by "imperialism," which, in his view, would be a more unfavorable scenario for the Workers' Party than a direct contest against Bolsonaro.
In Rio de Janeiro, the day after the conviction, thousands attended a carnival blockparades usually reserved for the early months of the year during carnival seasonto celebrate the decision.
Six days after the trial, Bolsonaro was diagnosed with skin cancer after a procedure found Squamous-cell carcinoma in lesions of his skin.