Bolsonaro must stand trial over alleged coup plot, Brazil's top court rules

Driving the news: Brazil's highest court ruled seven Bolsonaro allies must also stand trial over the allegations:

• Former Defense Ministers Gen. Walter Braga Netto and Gen. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; ex-Security Minister Anderson Torres; former spy chief Alexandre Ramagem; former Institutional Security Minister Gen. Augusto Heleno, ex-Navy commander Adm. Almir Garnier Santos and Bolsonaro's former assistant, Lt. Col. Mauro Cid.

State of play: Bolsonaro was charged last month following proposed indictments from the Brazilian federal police in November after a two-year investigation into the fallout from the election that Bolsonaro never formally conceded.

• His supporters stormed the presidential palace and other government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023, one week after Lula was sworn in.

What he's saying: "While they focus on silencing opposition, Brazil's economy spirals out of control, foreign investors flee, and hardworking families bear the burden of failed leadership," Bolsonaro said on X after the justices' unanimous ruling.

• "Rather than addressing the real crises facing our country, they are spending enormous resources to ensure I never appear on a ballot again," added Bolsonaro, whom the Supreme Court in 2023 barred from running for office for eight years after finding he'd undermined democracy by making false claims about Brazil's voting system.

• "Brazil deserves true democracy — where leaders are chosen by the people at the ballot box, not eliminated in a courtroom."

Flashback: Brazil seeks to restore order after pro-Bolsonaro capital riots