# Bolsonaro trial opens as Brazil hears first coup-plot testimony
On 2025-05-19, Brazil’s Supreme Court began a key early phase of the case against former president Jair Bolsonaro and more than 80 others accused of involvement in an alleged coup plot after the 2022 election. The hearing phase opened with testimony from a former army commander who said he had attended a meeting in which a “state of siege” was discussed as a possible route to overturning the election result.
The testimony adds a concrete account to a case that prosecutors say centers on whether Bolsonaro and allies tried to stop Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office. According to the evidence in the packet, Bolsonaro is accused of conspiring to stay in power despite losing the presidential race, and prosecutors argue that the plan involved political, military and intelligence figures rather than a narrow circle of aides.
The scale of the proceedings is large. More than 80 people are set to testify in the preliminary trial phase, which was expected to last at least two weeks. The defendants include former ministers, former military officers and intelligence officials, and the court is first hearing witnesses before moving to testimony from the accused, closing arguments and a vote by five high-court magistrates.
Bolsonaro, who is barred from seeking office until 2030 over his attacks on Brazil’s voting system, denies any role in a coup attempt and says he is being politically persecuted. He has still tried to keep open the possibility of a comeback in future elections. Prosecutors, by contrast, say he led a criminal organization aimed at undoing the election result and that the failed effort also included plans to discredit the vote and lay the ground for military intervention.
One of the most serious allegations is that Bolsonaro knew of a plot to assassinate Lula, vice president Geraldo Alckmin and Judge Alexandre de Moraes. The packet also says Bolsonaro was in the United States when supporters stormed government buildings on January 8, 2023, in scenes that became central to the legal and political aftermath of the election.
The case is significant not only because of Bolsonaro’s status but because of Brazil’s history. Several former presidents have faced legal trouble since the end of military rule, but Bolsonaro is the first to face coup charges. The court will eventually decide whether the evidence supports convictions that could carry long prison terms and political banishment.
For now, the opening testimony phase gives prosecutors their first chance to test the narrative that the alleged plan went beyond rhetoric and reached into the machinery of state. The defense will use the same process to argue the case is built on political animus rather than proof.
The court process is also important because it unfolds against a background of military figures, police officials and intelligence staff being drawn into the investigation. That broader reach is part of why the case has become so central to Brazil’s post-Bolsonaro political life. If the magistrates eventually vote to convict, the sentence could be severe enough to prevent a future comeback and reinforce the view that the failed effort was not just a spontaneous reaction to defeat but a coordinated attempt to reverse the vote.
*Event date: 2025-05-19.*
