Majority of Brazil Supreme Court judges vote to convict Bolsonaro in coup case

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday (September 11, 2025) reached the majority of three votes needed to convict firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a coup, making a lengthy prison sentence a near certainty.

Judge Carmen Lucia was the third of five judges to find the 70-year-old far-right leader guilty of plotting to claw back power after his defeat in October 2022 elections to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Mr. Bolsonaro’s conviction will however only become final when the fifth and last judge has his say.