Bolsonaro calls for amnesty in protest amid Brazil coup trial
Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro urges forgiveness for insurrectionists while facing charges of plotting a coup.
 |
| Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022) waves to supporters during a march calling for amnesty for those convicted over the failed right-wing insurrection on January 8, 2023, in BrasÃlia, Brazil, on May 7, 2025. Photo by Sergio Lima/AFP |
By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro made a fiery return to the political stage on Wednesday, calling for amnesty for those convicted over the January 2023 Brasilia riots while facing his own legal reckoning for allegedly plotting to stay in power through a coup attempt. The 70-year-old far-right leader stood before a crowd of supporters in Brasilia—some waving green-and-yellow flags, others chanting "Amnesty, now!"—as he delivered a defiant speech from atop a sound truck.
The rally marked Bolsonaro’s first major public appearance since his hospital release on Sunday. He had been admitted 17 days earlier for complications related to a 2018 stabbing injury. Despite his weakened condition, the former army captain appeared resolute, declaring, “We must not lose hope. We will continue the fight!”
His message was clear: he views the hundreds convicted over the storming of Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace as “innocent patriots” unfairly punished for their political expression. This latest protest is part of a broader push to frame the January 8, 2023, insurrection not as an attempted coup but as a misunderstood populist uprising.
The call for amnesty echoes U.S. Capitol comparisons
Bolsonaro’s rally comes amid growing tensions around his upcoming trial. Prosecutors allege he orchestrated a plan to remain in power after narrowly losing the October 2022 presidential election to leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The riots erupted just one week after Lula was sworn in for a third term. Protesters, echoing false claims of electoral fraud, vandalized government buildings in a chaotic attack that drew comparisons to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol assault.
At Wednesday’s demonstration, Bolsonaro supporters, many donning shirts emblazoned with Brazil’s national colors, continued to portray the events of January 8 as the “last hope” for a free Brazil. Among them was 46-year-old welder Kleber Rocha, who told reporters, “They were patriots. We want them out of jail.”
Bolsonaro has previously cited former U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass pardons of Capitol rioters as a precedent Brazil should follow. His party recently submitted a bill in Congress requesting amnesty for all participants in the protests against Lula’s election win.
Bolsonaro faces prison time and political exile
Despite Bolsonaro’s attempts to reclaim political momentum, his legal troubles are mounting. He has been banned from holding public office until 2030 due to his unsubstantiated attacks on Brazil’s electronic voting system and is now on trial for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2022 election results. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison.
No date has yet been set for the trial, but prosecutors assert it will be the first in modern Brazilian history involving a former leader accused of attempting to retain power through force. The case is a landmark for Brazil’s democratic institutions, which were restored after two decades of military dictatorship ended in 1985.
Bolsonaro denies all allegations, insisting he did not support the riots and was in the United States at the time of the attack. His defense team argues he is being persecuted by left-wing judges aiming to silence conservative voices.
Sentences fuel far-right anger
The sentencing of Debora Rodrigues dos Santos—a hairdresser who scrawled anti-Lula graffiti on a statue during the insurrection—has further fueled Bolsonaro’s movement. She received a 14-year prison sentence, becoming a symbol for the former president’s supporters who view the judiciary’s response as excessive and politically motivated.
“Absurd!” evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, a longtime Bolsonaro ally, railed in an Instagram post. “These heavy sentences for innocent patriots are an attack on liberty.”
Rallies like Wednesday’s may be smaller in scale than previous demonstrations—such as the one in São Paulo in April, which drew an estimated 45,000 people—but they reflect Bolsonaro’s continued ability to mobilize a base that believes in his narrative of political persecution.
Bolsonaro’s comeback campaign takes shape
Though barred from running for public office for now, Bolsonaro shows no signs of retreating from the national stage. He has leveraged his legal troubles into a rallying cry, energizing Brazil’s far-right movement with the promise of resistance against what he claims is a corrupt and ideologically biased system.
“We are not giving up,” Bolsonaro said to applause from the crowd. “Brazil belongs to the people—not to the judges or politicians who try to silence us.”
His followers have taken that message to heart, organizing online and in the streets. Analysts warn that Bolsonaro’s ongoing influence—combined with his continued refusal to accept the 2022 election outcome—could pose risks to Brazil’s political stability in the run-up to the next presidential race.
For many of Bolsonaro’s base, he remains the only leader capable of confronting the left and reclaiming the government. And while his legal future remains uncertain, Wednesday’s rally made one thing clear: Bolsonaro intends to remain at the center of Brazilian politics, trial or not.
