Thu Mar 27 05:46:13 UTC 2025: ## Bolsonaro Ordered to Stand Trial for Coup Plot
**Brasília, Brazil** – Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup d’état following his 2022 election defeat. This marks the first time a former Brazilian leader has faced such charges since the country’s transition to democracy in 1985.
Bolsonaro, who served one term from 2019 to 2022, is accused of leading a criminal organization that conspired to remain in power despite losing the election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a narrow margin. Investigators allege the plot included plans to issue a decree calling for new elections and even assassinate Lula, his vice president, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a staunch Bolsonaro critic.
A unanimous five-judge panel of the Supreme Court voted to proceed with the trial. Justice Moraes, who publicly labeled Bolsonaro a “dictator,” was among the judges. If convicted, Bolsonaro faces a potential prison sentence exceeding 40 years.
This trial comes less than a decade after former President Lula was found guilty of corruption charges in 2017. The proceedings against Bolsonaro are expected to be closely watched both domestically and internationally, given the implications for Brazilian democracy.
First Piper 