The coup trial of Brazil’s right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro will enter its final stage on Tuesday.
He is accused of masterminding an attempt to stay in power after losing his bid for re-election in 2022, which culminated in his supporters breaking into and vandalising government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
A panel of five Supreme Court judges is expected to reach a verdict by 12 September.
Bolsonaro has always denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were politically motivated.
His cause has been adopted by US President Donald Trump, who has called the trial a “witch-hunt”, using it as justification for imposing 50% tariffs on some Brazilian goods and sanctioning the Supreme Court judge leading the proceedings.
If convicted, Bolsonaro could face more than 40 years in prison. It is expected he could be present in court for at least the first and last day of this final phase of the trial.
He and seven other defendants who worked closely with him in government face five counts, all related to attempting a coup.
Bolsonaro has been charged with leading an armed criminal organisation, attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, an attempted coup, damage to federal property, and the deterioration of listed heritage. Each charge could lead to sentences of multiple years.
The allegations date back to before his supporters stormed government buildings on 8 January 2023.
Following an extensive investigation, police alleged that he and other officials had been planning acts to abolish the democratic rule of law and keep him in power as early as 2019.
Police say he had “full knowledge” of a plan to assassinate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – who at the time was the president-elect – along with Lula’s running mate and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The investigators cited a dialogue captured between the alleged conspirators and meetings at the presidential residence that they say support the charges.
Jair Bolsonaro is also accused of calling a meeting with top commanders of the armed forces in December 2022, in which he allegedly presented them with a proposed coup plan and asked them to join.
The army and air force commanders refused, but Navy Commander Almir Garnier Santos – a co-defendant in the trial – expressed support, according to police. The commander has denied the allegations.
Bolsonaro and his allies, including his former defence minister Walter Braga Netto, are also accused of encouraging Bolsonaro’s allies to attack the armed forces commanders on social media for not joining in the coup plan. Braga Netto has denied any wrongdoing.
Bolsonaro is already banned from running for re-election in Brazil’s next elections in 2026 after using social media and state television to cast doubt on Brazil’s electoral system and electronic voting machines without evidence.
After Bolsonaro very narrowly lost the 2022 election to Lula, his supporters staged protests and roadblocks across the country.
In the months before the election, he had sowed doubt without evidence on the electoral process, and after the results he did not concede defeat.
On January 8th 2023, a week after Lula’s inauguration, crowds of his supporters wearing yellow Brazil football shirts marched through Brasília. They broke into and vandalised Congress, the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace. It included vandalising statues, smashing glass and setting the chief justice’s chair on fire. It led to clashes with police.
Bolsonaro distanced himself from the riots at the time and criticised the methods on social media, but continued to claim the election had been stolen.
He is currently under house arrest, banned from travelling and wears an ankle tag – after authorities expressed concern he may try to flee the country or seek political asylum in an embassy.
Justice Cristiano Zanin, a former lawyer for Lula who is now chairman of the Supreme Court panel tasked with the Bolsonaro trial, will open proceedings at 09:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
He will call on Justice Alexandre de Moraes – whom Mr Bolsonaro sees as his main opponent – to read out a report outlining the case.
The prosecutor general, Paulo Gonet, is expected to then read the charges against Bolsonaro and his co-defendants.
One of the eight men on trial, Bolsonaro’s former aide Mauro Cid, has signed a plea deal in exchange for providing evidence and his lawyer will be the first to speak.
The remaining defendants’ lawyers will then take their turns to speak on behalf of their respective clients, all of whom have denied the charges against them.
The justices will then cast their votes one by one. A majority of three out of the five votes is needed to find a defendant guilty.
Each judge can recommend a sentence for those found guilty.
Bolsonaro and his co-defendants can appeal to the full Supreme Court if found guilty.
