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Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro is to face trial over an alleged coup plot that aimed to keep the rightwinger in power after he lost re-election in 2022. 

The country’s supreme court on Wednesday voted to allow criminal proceedings against the hard-right populist and seven other defendants, who include his former defence and justice ministers, intelligence chief and commander of the Navy.

Prosecutors accuse them of a conspiracy to prevent a handover of power to the democratically elected leftist, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

Bolsonaro, who is 70, faces a potential sentence of decades in prison if he is found guilty on charges of leading an armed criminal organisation, violent abolition of the rule of law and coup d’état.

The eight defendants, including Bolsonaro, also face further charges relating to riots in Brasília on January 8, 2023, when supporters of the ultra-conservative nationalist ransacked congress and the supreme court and presidential palace.

Prosecutors have said the rampage was a final attempt at overthrowing Lula a week after he took office. Bolsonaro was out of the country at the time.

All eight defendants have denied the charges.

Police investigators claimed the scheme to overthrow Brazilian democracy also included plans to assassinate Lula, his vice-president and a supreme court justice towards the end of 2022.

The case will proceed after being approved by all members of a five-judge panel in Brazil’s top tribunal. A trial could begin in the coming weeks and legal experts believe a verdict is likely before the end of the year.

In total, 34 individuals have been indicted for alleged involvement in the plot. Brazil’s supreme court is yet to decide whether the rest will face criminal proceedings.