Brazil’s Bolsonaro to Stand Trial Over Alleged 2022 Coup Plot
Aidan Ishaan Raman Bogan
Staff Writer
The former president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, is expected to stand trial before the Brazilian Supreme Court following a unanimous ruling of the justices. Bolsonaro, along with several other accused associates, is connected to the actions that led to the damaging January 8th attacks in 2023, following the 2022 Brazilian elections. The accusations constitute the attempted violation of the democratic process, deliberate misinformation, manipulation of military forces, and interference with the judiciary, as outlined in an extensive 884-page report released in November 2024 by the Department of Federal Police, reports Reuters.
The litigation stems from their participation in or connection to the attacks on the National Congress Palace in the capital city of Brasilia. Additionally, it involved the disruption of domestic law that allowed for a potential military intervention, as well as the disjointed social media campaign that allowed for the organization of protesters and rioters.
January 8th, 2023, saw the organization of several thousands of protesters and rioters in the Federal District. Though there was little central leadership among the popular movement, several right-wing social media figures, such as Fernando Cerimedo, have been connected to the motives and demands purported by the protesters. Among these claims were denouncements of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in the 2022 election as fraudulent, as well as his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine, and attempts to mobilize the armed forces to create a state of martial law until further notice. As rioters forcibly entered the National Congress Palace and occupied the complex, police intervened, resulting in about 2,000 arrests following the incident, according to Reuters. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Bolsonaro fled the country to his residence in Orlando, Florida, while Lula maintained the Brazilian presidency.
According to the 884-page police report, as discussed by The Associated Press, many in the judiciary believe that there is strong evidence suggesting that Bolsonaro was not only complicit in the alleged coup attempt but also actively supported actions toward this goal. In December 2022, he presented a decree to several commanders in the armed forces, which would have initiated an electoral investigation, as well as halted any intervention from the nation’s Superior Electoral Court.
While this disruptive decree was never enacted, a number of potential opposition leaders in the armed forces, judiciary, and wider government were identified as targets in another drafted proposal. In the context of the wider campaign of misinformation surrounding the 2022 Brazilian election, Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was demeaned by Bolsonaro and his supporters for attempting to combat fake news of alleged electoral fraud, even being targeted for assassination, according to The New York Times. Bolsonaro has remained vehemently opposed to the notion that he was involved in a coup.
Bolsonaro has made numerous responses to the justices on social media, claiming that the entire trial was nothing more than a biased attempt to prevent him from running for the presidency once again in the 2026 election season, according to NPR. In a recent public appearance in São Paulo, alongside a purported 55,000 supporters on April 7th, 2025, Bolsonaro made demands to the Supreme Court pertaining to the January 8th attacks and asked for amnesty for those who had raided congress, according to Folha de S.Paulo. There has yet to be any official response from the judiciary, yet the current stability of Brazilian democracy and political accountability has yet to be profoundly ruptured, even in the face of popular discontent.
Image courtesy of Getty Images.
