The case concerns the events after the presidential election in 2022, where Bolsonaro is accused of having tried to stage a coup to retain power.
Already earlier on Thursday, it was clear that Bolsonaro would be convicted, since a majority of the five judges voted for such a verdict. In total, they found him guilty on five counts.
Judge: Risked dictatorship
Bolsonaro has, among other things, been accused of having been aware of a plan to poison the country's current president, Lula da Silva, as well as having armed criminal gangs with the aim of installing himself as president.
Alexandre de Moraes, one of the five judges, has this week described the situation as "Brazil was about to return to being a dictatorship". His fellow judge Cármen Lúcia, who also voted for a guilty verdict, describes Bolsonaro as "a leader of an organization that staged all possible measures to retain or take power”.
The 70-year-old Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest in the country's capital, Brasília. The verdict can be appealed.
Criticized by Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was "very dissatisfied" with the guilty verdict.
It's just like they tried to do with me, but they didn't get away with it at all, said Trump.
The country's Foreign Minister Marco Rubio calls the process against Bolsonaro a "witch hunt".
"Brazil's Supreme Court has unfairly sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to prison", Rubio writes on X and adds that the US will "react accordingly". The American government has previously imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil, which President Trump directly linked to the trial against Bolsonaro.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry writes on X that "threats like the ones presented today by US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio will not intimidate our democracy".
Jair Bolsonaro, born March 21, 1955, in São Paulo, is a Brazilian politician and former military man.
He was Brazil's president from 2019 to 2023.
Bolsonaro is known for his national conservative and polarizing style and has expressed his support for Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985).
Bolsonaro has been criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the increasing deforestation of the Amazon, and his harsh statements about minorities and women.
He lost the presidential election in 2022 to Lula da Silva.
