Bolsonaro coup proceedings before the STF

Background: January 8, 2023

On January 8, 2023, supporters of the voted-out Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the three branches of government in Brasília — Congress (Congresso Nacional), the Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal, STF) and the presidential palace (Palácio do Planalto). In Brazil, the events are treated as an attempted coup d’état (tentativa de golpe de Estado). The criminal prosecution is being handled centrally before the STF.

Sentencing range and charges

The General Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) has charged Bolsonaro and leading associates with the attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law (Art. 359-L CPB) and with attempting a coup (Art. 359-M CPB). The maximum penalties for both offenses add up to as much as 28 years; in combination with Lei 13.964/2019 (Pacote Anticrime), the theoretical upper limit is the overall maximum sentence of 40 years of imprisonment.

Ramagem conviction, September 2025

In September 2025, the STF found the former ABIN director Alexandre Ramagem guilty in a first follow-on judgment — a precedent for the main Bolsonaro trial. The Inquérito INQ 4.879 (STF) is the central case file; the rapporteur is Alexandre de Moraes.

Relevance for extradition law

Should Bolsonaro or a key figure in the coup proceedings flee abroad, Brazil — despite having no treaty with Germany — would file an extradition request on the basis of general reciprocity (Section 4 IRG). Because these are offenses directed at defending the democratic rule of law, the political offense exception (Art. 5 LII CF/1988, Section 6(1) IRG) is, with high probability, to be denied in the German review — comparable to the treatment of Nazi-era offenses or genocide: it is precisely the defense of democracy that is not “political” within the meaning of the exception.

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