Brazil’s former President, Jair Bolsonaro, has been ordered to begin serving a 27-year prison sentence for allegedly orchestrating an attempted coup, following a ruling on Tuesday by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Bolsonaro’s legal team opted not to file a final appeal after his conviction for plotting a 2022 plan to overthrow his successor, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
With no appeal submitted, Moraes requested that the conviction be treated as final, effectively eliminating any remaining legal options for the former leader and activating his lengthy sentence.
The ex-president has been held at the Federal Police headquarters since Saturday, after officers detained him for allegedly tampering with his court-mandated ankle monitor.
Moraes ruled that Bolsonaro will serve his term at the facility where he is currently being held.
Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Paulo Cunha Bueno, wrote on X that despite the court’s declaration of finality, the former president still intends to challenge the ruling through an appeal.
Over the weekend, Bolsonaro’s legal representatives condemned his detention as “unjustifiable,” arguing that imprisonment posed risks to his health. Shortly after, the Supreme Court released footage it says shows Bolsonaro admitting to damaging his ankle monitor using a soldering iron.
According to the court, he claimed he did it not to evade house arrest, but because new medications had led him to “hallucinate.”
The criminal case dates back to the aftermath of Bolsonaro’s 2022 election defeat to Lula da Silva.
Federal investigators allege that Bolsonaro and his allies quickly began outlining an unlawful strategy to remain in power, culminating in the January 8, 2023 assault on key government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters.
The case later drew international attention after U.S. President Donald Trump, a political ally of Bolsonaro, returned to office in 2024.
The United States began addressing the matter through diplomatic channels, and in July, Trump imposed hefty tariffs on certain Brazilian goods while urging Brazil to end what he labeled a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.
However, by the time Bolsonaro was arrested over the weekend, Washington had already granted tariff exemptions for several major Brazilian exports.
When asked about the arrest on Saturday, Trump told reporters he was unaware of the development but commented that it was “too bad.”
