Former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been found guilty of plotting a military coup in the South American country as three out of five Supreme Court justices ruled that he led a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
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Although the Bolsonaro-led plot did not get sufficient support from the military to materialise, it led to the storming of government buildings by Bolsonaro’s supporters on January 8, 2023, the justices said.
One justice acquitted the 70-year-old Bolsonaro and a final one was yet to vote, but the simple majority is enough to convict the former president. The former leader risks decades in jail as he awaits sentencing on Friday.
