The 70-year-old Bolsonaro may be sentenced to 40 years in prison if a majority of the judges believe he is guilty of trying to regain power after losing the presidential election to Luis Ignácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said that "Brazil was about to return to being a dictatorship" 40 years after the last dictatorship in the country.
De Moraes then said that the evidence showed that it was a "criminal organization led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro" and that he was guilty on all the charges brought by the prosecutor.
His colleague Flavio Dino, who was Minister of Justice under Lula, also chose to convict Bolsonaro.
The other three judges will now, each and every one, present their judgments in open proceedings, where they will explain the decision to acquit or convict the former president. Three judges must vote to convict for Bolsonaro to be sentenced. The judges can change their decisions until a final judgment is pronounced.
