The Donald Trump administration has vowed to act against the Brazilian government if former President Jair Bolsonaro is jailed following his sentencing to 27 years in prison.
In a statement dated Friday, September 12, 2025, the Trump administration, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declared that the US government would respond to actions taken by the Brazilian government, led by President Alexandre de Moraes.
Rubio argued that the imprisonment, sanctioned by Brazil’s Supreme Court, is unjustified.
“The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil’s Supreme Court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt,” said Rubio.
Trump Administration Threatens to Act if Brazil Jails Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro
Republican politician and close Trump ally María Elvira Salazar, the current U.S. Representative for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, and a Republican assistant whip, also echoed Rubio’s sentiments, vowing that the Trump administration would not stand idly by as Brazil’s former President faces injustice.
She described Bolsonaro’s sentencing as a dark and shameful day for Brazilian democracy, calling it a sham conviction.
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The Republican Assistant Whip accused the current Brazilian government of using the justice system to settle political scores.
“This sham conviction is not justice; it is political vengeance. A staged trial meant to intimidate, punish, and erase the voice of the people. Democracy dies when judges act like dictators. The people of Brazil deserve fair courts, free elections, and leaders chosen at the ballot box, not condemned in backroom trials.
The world is watching. We must stand with Brazil’s democracy and oppose this disgraceful abuse of power,” said the Congresswoman.
Former Brazil President Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison
The remarks from Trump’s administration come after former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison on September 11, 2025, by a panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court.
He was convicted on multiple charges, including plotting a military coup to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election after his loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leading an armed criminal organization, and attempting to assassinate the president-elect as part of a broader scheme to cling to power.
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The plot involved pressuring the military to intervene, creating a parallel “crisis management office” to run the government, and culminating in the January 8, 2023, storming of government buildings in Brasília by his supporters. Four of the five justices on the panel voted guilty, with Justice Luiz Fux dissenting.
Bolsonaro, aged 70, is currently under house arrest and plans to appeal the verdict, potentially seeking house arrest due to his age and health.
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