The former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is set to stand trial for allegedly planning a coup following his 2022 election loss, according to the Brazilian Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A five-judge panel reached a unanimous decision to put Bolsonaro on trial, ruling that there was enough evidence for all the suspects to face prosecution and be publically declared as defendants.

Should Bolsonaro be found guilty in the proceedings, which are expected to take place later this year, he could face a lengthy prison sentence, effectively isolating the far-right firebrand, who has notably refrained from naming a political successor.

The Supreme Court ruled that seven other close allies of the ex-president must also face trial for charges that include participation in an armed criminal organization, attempting a coup d’état, and violently trying to dismantle Brazilian democracy.

The former President's allies who face trial are: Bolsonaro’s former defense ministers Gen Walter Braga Netto and Gen Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; his former navy commander, Adm Almir Garnier Santos; his former security minister, Anderson Torres; his former spy chief Alexandre Ramagem; his former minister for institutional security, Gen Augusto Heleno; and his former assistant, Lt Col Mauro Cid, who, if convicted, will receive a lighter sentence after he struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

The men are accused of being at the core of an extensive conspiracy aimed at keeping Bolsonaro in power following his narrow defeat in the 2022 presidential election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.