Brazil is facing a moment of reckoning unlike any in its modern history. On November 22, 2025, former President Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody by federal police in Brasília, marking the dramatic culmination of a saga that has gripped the nation and sent shockwaves far beyond its borders. The arrest followed the breaking of his ankle monitor, a violation that authorities deemed a clear sign he might attempt to flee—possibly to a foreign embassy—just as the Supreme Court was reviewing his final appeal against a 27-year prison sentence for orchestrating a coup attempt after losing the 2022 election.
According to The Conversation, the decision to detain Bolsonaro was made amid fears that a vigil outside his residence, called by his son Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, could provide cover for escape. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes described the situation bluntly, stating that Bolsonaro’s escape would have been “facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.” Bolsonaro’s family and legal team, however, insisted he had no intention of fleeing, maintaining his innocence and framing the charges as politically motivated.
Bolsonaro’s troubles began in earnest following the January 2023 insurrection in Brasília, when thousands of his supporters stormed government buildings. Investigators soon discovered that the riot was not an isolated outburst but part of a broader coup plot. Evidence uncovered during the probe included plans to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice Moraes himself. The findings led to a sweeping indictment of Bolsonaro and several high-ranking officials in early 2025, with convictions handed down in September.
The list of those convicted alongside Bolsonaro reads like a who’s who of Brazil’s political and military elite: Colonel Mauro Cid, army generals Walter Braga Netto, Augusto Heleno, and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, as well as former navy commander Almir Garnier Santos. Also among the convicted were former justice minister Anderson Torres and former intelligence agency director Alexandre Ramagem. Notably, Ramagem fled Brazil in September and has been living in the United States since, with his lawyers and political allies claiming ignorance of his departure. The Supreme Court ordered his arrest on November 21, 2025.
Bolsonaro’s sentence—27 years and three months—was the harshest among the main conspirators. Others received sentences ranging from 16 to just over 26 years. Colonel Mauro Cid, who cooperated with investigators, was given two years of house arrest. In total, 34 people have been indicted in connection with the coup plot, with the Supreme Court accepting all but one of the criminal complaints. The remaining case involves Paulo Figueiredo, a prominent right-wing influencer and grandson of Brazil’s last dictator, who has yet to present his defense and resides in the US.
The Supreme Court panel responsible for the case has been methodical in its approach. In October, it convicted seven individuals for running a disinformation campaign that spread falsehoods about the 2022 election and attacked state institutions. Their sentences ranged from seven to 17 years. Then, on November 18, nine out of ten defendants accused of planning the most violent aspects of the plot—including assassination attempts on Lula, Alckmin, and Moraes—were convicted, with sentences between 16 and 24 years. One army general, Estevam Theophilo, was acquitted due to lack of evidence, while two colonels may benefit from non-prosecution agreements. The panel is set to judge six more defendants in December for their alleged roles in coordinating other aspects of the conspiracy.
Bolsonaro’s legal team has repeatedly tried to soften the blow of his conviction. They requested that he be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest, citing health issues stemming from a 2018 stabbing on the campaign trail. The Supreme Court, however, rejected this appeal, noting both the seriousness of his crimes and the precedent set by granting house arrest to another former president, Fernando Collor, earlier in 2025. Justice de Moraes, explaining the decision to keep Bolsonaro in custody, accused him of “repeated” attempts to violate court orders and characterized him as a flight risk who had shown “patent disrespect for the justice system.” Justice Flavio Dino echoed these concerns, stating, “The admitted breach of electronic monitoring not only increases the risk of escape but also indicates a blatant violation of the precautionary measures imposed by the Judiciary.”
The details of Bolsonaro’s latest violation are as bizarre as they are serious. Assistant Judge Luciana Sorrentino reported that Bolsonaro experienced “hallucinations” and “paranoia” after a change in medication, leading him to believe his ankle monitor contained a wiretap. He allegedly used a soldering tool to damage the device. The former president himself claimed the hallucinatory effects of his medication were to blame, but the Supreme Court was unmoved by this explanation.
Federal police have long suspected Bolsonaro might attempt to escape justice. In August, a police report documented several attempts, including a 33-page letter to Argentinian President Javier Milei in February 2024, in which Bolsonaro petitioned for asylum, claiming he was “persecuted for reasons and crimes that are essentially political.” Around the same time, he spent several nights in the Hungarian embassy in Brasília, raising further suspicions that he was seeking diplomatic sanctuary. Meanwhile, his son Eduardo Bolsonaro faces trial for obstruction, accused of petitioning the Trump administration to illegally intervene in his father’s case. Former US President Donald Trump has called the prosecution a “witch hunt” and even imposed tariffs on Brazil and sanctioned Justice de Moraes in protest, according to Al Jazeera.
Bolsonaro’s arrest ended more than 100 days of house arrest and capped a period of intense political drama. The Supreme Court’s decision to keep him in federal police custody was unanimous among the four justices who voted, with a fifth seat vacant. Justice Moraes made it clear that the move was necessary “to guarantee public order, ensure the application of criminal law and prevent disrespect for the precautionary measures already applied.”
The repercussions of Bolsonaro’s conviction and arrest are being felt across Brazil and Latin America. Never before have members of the country’s political and military elite been held to account for staging a coup. Comparisons have been drawn to Argentina’s “trial of the juntas” in 1985, when former dictators were convicted for crimes against humanity, and to similar reckonings in Uruguay and Peru. Yet, as The Conversation points out, many former dictators in the region—such as Chile’s Augusto Pinochet—have evaded justice entirely. Brazil’s move to hold Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators accountable is being seen by many as a watershed moment in the nation’s ongoing struggle to reckon with its authoritarian past.
As the Supreme Court prepares to try the remaining defendants in December, Brazil stands at a crossroads. The outcome of these proceedings will not only determine the fate of those involved in the 2023 coup plot but also set a precedent for how the nation addresses challenges to its democracy in the years to come.
