By: Express Web DeskUpdated: September 12, 2025 01:31 AM IST 3 min readBrazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro flashes a thumbs up while standing at the entrance of his home where he is under house arrest in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo: AP)The majority of a panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices on Thursday voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.Bolsonaro guilty of coup chargesThe far-right politician who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022 was found guilty on five counts by three members of a five-justice panel. The latest to rule was Cármen Lúcia on Thursday, a day after another justice, Luiz Fux, disagreed and voted to acquit the ex-president of all charges. Justices of the Brazilian Supreme Court meet for the verdict and sentencing phase of a trial for those charged in an alleged coup plot to keep Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro in office after his 2022 election defeat. (Photo: AP)There is only one pending justice to vote. Once all five justices have voted, the panel will decide on Bolsonaro’s sentence, which could amount to decades in prison.What judges saidJustice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organization, and voted in favor of convicting him. Earlier Thursday, Lúcia also voted to convict Bolsonaro of organized crime in connection with the alleged coup attempt.The 70-year-old former president is currently under house arrest. His lawyers have said that they will appeal the verdict to the full Supreme Court of 11 justices.Bolsonaro denied all chargesBolsonaro is accused of attempting to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Prosecutors charged him with a total of five charges. They include attempting to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, as well as being implicated in violence and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.Bolsonaro, who has denied any wrongdoing, is a former Army captain who never hid his admiration for the military dictatorship that killed hundreds of Brazilians between 1964 and 1985.Story continues below this adThe trial has been followed by a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him. A supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro protests his Supreme Court trial in Sao Paulo. (Photo: AP)Some have taken to the streets to back the far-right leader, who had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a separate case.Bolsonaro, who has been described as the ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ has gained the support of the US President. Trump, who termed Bolsonaro’s trial a “ witch hunt,” had also imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Jair Bolsonaro