Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after four of the five Supreme Federal Court judges voted to convict him of trying to stage a coup.

On Thursday, Justices Carmen Lucia and Cristiano Zanin also gave their votes in favour of conviction, according to Xinhua news agency.

Bolsonaro was found guilty on five charges planning a coup d’état, trying to violently overthrow democracy, joining an armed criminal group, causing serious damage, and harming protected heritage sites.

The Supreme Federal Court began hearing the case on September 2, with a conviction needing a majority from the five-judge panel.

On Tuesday, Justices Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino voted to convict Bolsonaro, while Justice Luiz Fux on Wednesday sided with acquittal.

The 70-year-old former president is currently under house arrest. He can still challenge the ruling by appealing to the full 11-member Supreme Federal Court.

Bolsonaro did not appear in person for the final stage of the trial.

He has often claimed the case was meant to block him from running in the 2026 presidential race, even though he was already banned from holding office in a separate ruling. He has also dismissed it as a “witch hunt.”

His stance has been echoed by former US President Donald Trump, who slapped 50 per cent tariffs on Brazilian goods, calling it payback for Bolsonaro’s prosecution.

Responding to the verdict, Trump said he was “very surprised” and compared it to his own situation: “That’s just like what they tried to do with me. But they didn’t succeed at all.