By Ricardo Brito

Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro stands at his home while under house arrest, ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, as he awaits trial over an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 election, in Brasília, Brazil, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

BRASILIA, Aug 15 (Reuters) – A five-judge panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court will kick off on September 2 the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accused of plotting a coup after his electoral defeat, a court document showed on Friday.

The head of the panel, Justice Cristiano Zanin, scheduled court sessions for September 2-12, according to the document.

Bolsonaro, who this month was put under house arrest for failing to comply with restraining orders, faces charges he conspired with allies to violently overturn his 2022 electoral loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers declined to comment.

The former right-wing leader denies any wrongdoing, but told Reuters in an interview last month he had no doubt the Supreme Court would find him guilty.

The legal case against Bolsonaro has been cited by U.S. President Donald Trump, who refers to it as a “witch hunt,” as grounds for his decision to impose a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil.

“I think he’s an honest man … This is really a political execution that they’re trying to do with Bolsonaro,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case against the former president, had asked Zanin on Thursday to schedule the trial.

The United States last month imposed financial sanctions on Moraes. The judge said he would ignore the sanctions and continue to do his job.

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Ricardo Brito has covered Brazilian politics for over two decades, including five presidential elections, an impeachment, and Car Wash, one of the world’s largest corruption scandals. Brito joined Reuters in 2017, covering politics, courts, offenses, Indigenous communities, and the environment. Recently, he has focused on investigations into the alleged attempted coup against Brazilian democracy in 2022 and crime in the Amazon rainforest. He won two well-known Brazilian awards, Abril (2008) and Estadao (2015), and was a finalist for ‘Breaking News of the Year’ in 2022 for coverage of Brazil’s presidential bid. He once dreamed of being a basketball star, but has since resigned to being a Lakers fan.

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