Brazil sentences nine military generals to up to 24 years for plotting to kill president-elect Lula and prevent 2022 inauguration

On Nov. 18, 2025, Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced nine high-ranking military officials to prison terms up to 24 years after convicting them of plotting a coup and attempting to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes

The trial of 'Group 3' defendants took place between Nov. 11-18, 2025, with sentences ranging from 1 year and 11 months to 24 years

Only General Estevan Theophilo was acquitted among the 10 defendants Four defendants received sentences exceeding 20 years for their roles in the conspiracy to prevent Lula's Jan. 2023 inauguration.

The 'Green and Yellow Dagger' assassination plan was drafted by General Mario Fernandes inside Brazil's presidential Planalto Palace on Nov. 12, 2022, just days after Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the Oct. 2022 election. The plan detailed methods to assassinate Lula, Alckmin, and Justice Moraes using poison or explosive devices to prevent the democratic transfer of power. The conspiracy was elaborated at the home of Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro's vice-presidential running mate and former Army general, who hosted meetings where military officers and government officials coordinated the coup attempt.

On Dec. 15, 2022, coup plotters stalked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes using code names and a WhatsApp group titled 'Copa 2022,' planning to assassinate him when he left a Supreme Court session. The conspirators aborted the assassination attempt at the last minute because the court session ended earlier than expected. Federal Police investigations found plotters conducted surveillance, established communication protocols, and prepared operational plans for political murders designed to create chaos justifying military intervention to 'restore order' and keep Bolsonaro in power.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in Sep. 2025 and sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison for leading the criminal organization that orchestrated the coup attempt. The Supreme Court's First Panel convicted all defendants between Sep. 2-11, 2025, finding Bolsonaro had 'full knowledge' of the assassination plots against Lula, Alckmin, and Moraes. Co-conspirators sentenced alongside Bolsonaro included General Walter Braga Netto (26 years), Admiral Almir Garnier Santos (24 years), former Justice Minister Anderson Gustavo Torres (24 years), General Augusto Heleno (21 years), and General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (19 years).

On Jan. 8, 2023, one week after Lula's inauguration, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's presidential palace, Congress building, and Supreme Court in Brasília in a violent insurrection lasting over three hours. Federal Police investigations concluded the Jan. 8 riots were not spontaneous protests but part of the coordinated coup plan developed in Nov.-Dec. 2022. The rioters aimed to create a crisis severe enough to justify military intervention, with coup plotters hoping the military would refuse to restore order and instead overthrow Lula's democratically elected government.

On Nov. 21, 2024, Brazilian Federal Police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 co-conspirators of attempting to overthrow Brazil's democratic institutions through 'Operation Counterattack.' The 700-page police report documented how Bolsonaro began laying groundwork for the coup in 2021 by spreading disinformation about Brazil's electronic voting system, repeatedly claiming without evidence that the electoral process was vulnerable to fraud. This disinformation campaign primed Bolsonaro's supporters to reject his 2022 election loss and mobilized them for the Jan. 8, 2023 insurrection.

In Dec. 2024, Federal Police arrested Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro's 2022 running mate and former Chief of Staff, identifying him as a 'central figure in the acts aimed at subverting the democratic regime in Brazil.' Additional arrests targeted military officers and Bolsonaro administration officials who occupied key positions enabling the coup conspiracy. In Dec. 2025, the Supreme Court convicted five more conspirators from 'Nucleus 2' of the plot, including Filipe Martins, Marcelo Câmara, and Mário Fernandes, showing the breadth of the conspiracy across Brazil's executive branch and military command structure.

Bolsonaro's conviction and the sentencing of military officers breaks Brazil's historical pattern of impunity for coup plotters and military interventions

Brazil experienced a military dictatorship from 1964-1985, with previous coup attempts and authoritarian actions rarely resulting in criminal accountability for high-ranking officials

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, himself a target of the assassination plot, led the judicial proceedings holding coup conspirators accountable The convictions signal Brazil's democratic institutions' determination to prevent military interference in civilian governance and establish that attempting to overthrow elected governments carries severe criminal consequences.