Brazil's Supreme Court sets trial date, and Bolsonaro's allies believe he will be imprisoned by December.

247 - Fear over the possible arrest of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is already haunting those closest to the former president, who believe he could be arrested before Christmas for allegedly attempting a coup d'état. With the trial scheduled to begin this month, Bolsonaro supporters have criticized the speed of the case's proceedings in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and say the sentence has already been decided.

"Everyone already knows the verdict before the trial even begins," one of his closest allies told the journalist's column. Josias de Souza"In the future, the Supreme Court's haste will be used as an argument for requests for annulment. Today, this haste will intensify the pressure for Bolsonaro to authorize — or even lead — the process of defining another candidate to represent the right wing in 2026," he added, according to UOL.

On Thursday morning (13), the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, sent an opinion to the Supreme Court refuting the allegations of the defense of the former president and seven other defendants. Shortly after, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case, released the complaint for analysis by the First Panel of the STF. Before the end of the afternoon, the president of the panel, Cristiano Zanin, scheduled the trial for March 25.

"It seems that due process here works at the speed of light," Bolsonaro ironically stated on his social media. Ineligible to run for office until 2030, the former president insinuates that his exclusion from the 2026 election is the true objective of the Supreme Federal Court.

The history of the Supreme Court's First Chamber reinforces the pessimism of Bolsonaro supporters. On average, the time between the acceptance of the indictments related to January 8th and the convictions has been four months. For the trial of Bolsonaro and his closest allies, Zanin has reserved three sessions: one on the morning of March 25th, another in the afternoon, and the last on the morning of March 26th.

According to the report, if the schedule is maintained, by the end of the month Bolsonaro; Generals Augusto Heleno, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, and Braga Netto; Admiral Almir Garnier Santos; whistleblower Mauro Cid; Congressman Alexandre Ramagem; and former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres will be in the dock. So far, the First Panel – composed of Justices Alexandre de Moraes, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia, and Luiz Fux – has unanimously validated the rapporteur's decisions regarding those involved in the coup plot, significantly reducing the lawyers' chances of success in appealing a potential conviction.