Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced on Thursday to 27 years and three months in prison hours after being convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election, dealing a powerful rebuke to one of the world's most prominent far-right populist leaders.
The conviction ruling by a panel of five justices on Brazil's Supreme Court, who also agreed on the sentence, made the 70-year-old Bolsonaro the first former president in the country's history to be convicted for attacking democracy, and drew disapproval from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"This criminal case is almost a meeting between Brazil and its past, its present and its future," Justice Carmen Lucia said before her vote to convict Bolsonaro, referring to a history checkered with military coups and attempts to overthrow democracy.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.