Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been slapped with a staggering 27-year prison sentence, sparking outrage from U.S. leaders who see it as a blatant political hit job.
Breitbart reported that on Thursday, September 11, 2025, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) convicted Bolsonaro of “crimes against democracy,” prompting fierce criticism from American officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump, who promise a strong U.S. response.
Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2018 to 2022, narrowly lost the 2022 election to socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a result many of his supporters still question due to perceived judicial meddling.
The STF’s charges against Bolsonaro include an alleged coup attempt and involvement in a riot on January 8, 2023, which damaged key government buildings in Brasilia, though no serious injuries occurred.
Curiously, Bolsonaro wasn’t even in Brazil during the unrest—he was in the United States—yet the court tied him to the chaos anyway. Talk about a long-distance blame game.
The sentence doesn’t just stop at prison time; the STF also banned Bolsonaro from running for office for eight years after his term, meaning he’d be 105 before he could campaign again. That’s less a punishment and more a cruel math problem.
Before this conviction, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees both the STF and the Superior Electoral Tribunal, had already muzzled Bolsonaro’s 2022 campaign with heavy censorship while letting Lula sling insults like “cannibal” without consequence.
De Moraes didn’t stop there—he banned Bolsonaro from social media, restricted public statements, and placed him under house arrest, labeling him a flight risk despite Bolsonaro voluntarily returning to Brazil in early 2023 to face charges. If that’s not a judicial vendetta, what is?
Many Brazilians and global observers argue this pattern of interference under de Moraes casts serious doubt on Lula’s electoral win, especially given Lula’s own overturned corruption conviction from 2017.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn’t mince words, declaring, “The United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.” That’s a diplomatic way of saying the gloves are coming off.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau echoed the sentiment, lamenting how de Moraes is “laying waste to the rule of law” and driving U.S.-Brazil relations to their lowest point in centuries. When a seasoned diplomat sounds that alarmed, it’s time to pay attention.
President Trump also weighed in late on September 11, 2025, calling Bolsonaro a “good man” and drawing parallels to his own legal battles, hinting at a personal stake in this international drama.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has pushed back—in July 2025, heavy sanctions were imposed on Brazil, including a 50-percent tariff on goods and personal penalties on de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, which barred him from U.S. entry.
Those measures, alongside an executive order labeling Brazil’s actions a threat to U.S. national security, spurred peaceful protests across 26 Brazilian cities, with tens of thousands thanking Trump for supporting Bolsonaro. Meanwhile, Lula’s government doubles down, claiming jailing opponents somehow safeguards “democracy”—an irony not lost on critics.
As of now, the U.S. hasn’t detailed its next steps following the September 11 conviction, but with Rubio’s vow to “respond accordingly,” Brazil might want to brace for more than just stern words.
