On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was rushed to a hospital in Brasilia after experiencing a sudden and severe bout of illness while under house arrest. According to multiple sources, including France 24, AFP, and statements from his family, the 70-year-old former leader suffered violent hiccup episodes, vomiting, and low blood pressure, prompting an emergency response. His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, described the situation as a "dramatic episode" that left his father breathless for nearly ten seconds, adding, "He is stable but doesn't look well." Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle, confirmed on Instagram that he was receiving medication and being examined by doctors at DF Star Hospital.
This marks Bolsonaro’s second hospital visit in just a week. On Sunday, September 14, he underwent a procedure to remove eight skin lesions from his torso and right arm, which were sent for biopsies. According to his doctor, Claudio Birolini, the former president was "quite weak" and had developed slight anemia, likely due to poor nutrition over the previous month. Recent laboratory tests also revealed that Bolsonaro is anemic, and a chest CT scan showed "residual signs of recent pneumonia," as reported by Al Jazeera.
Bolsonaro’s health issues are not new. Since being stabbed in the abdomen during his 2018 presidential campaign, he has faced recurring intestinal problems and has undergone at least six surgeries, the most recent being a grueling 12-hour procedure in April. His family and legal team have frequently cited these ongoing health struggles, especially as his court cases have intensified in recent months.
The urgency of Tuesday’s hospitalization was underscored by the presence of correctional police officers who accompanied Bolsonaro from his home in Brasilia to the hospital. Under the terms of his house arrest, as ordered by Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Bolsonaro is permitted to seek emergency medical care, provided he supplies medical proof of the necessity within 24 hours. His lawyers are expected to use his deteriorating health as an argument for maintaining house arrest rather than moving him to a detention center to serve his sentence.
Bolsonaro’s legal troubles have escalated dramatically in recent weeks. On Thursday, September 11, 2025, a panel of Supreme Court justices found him guilty of plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The court sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison, marking the first time in Brazil’s history that a former president has been convicted and sentenced for participating in a coup plot. The ruling does not immediately send Bolsonaro to jail; the court has up to 60 days to publish the full decision, after which his lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification. Bolsonaro’s lawyers have already announced plans to appeal, and he continues to deny any wrongdoing, insisting he is the victim of political persecution.
The political fallout from Bolsonaro’s conviction has been swift and deeply polarizing. According to Al Jazeera, public opinion in Brazil is sharply divided over the verdict, with some viewing it as a necessary defense of democracy and others as a politically motivated attack on a popular figure. President Lula has hailed the sentencing as a "historic decision" that "safeguards Brazil’s institutions and the democratic rule of law," noting that the investigation uncovered plans to assassinate him, the vice president, and a Supreme Court justice.
Bolsonaro’s allies, however, are not backing down. In Congress, they are rallying behind an amnesty bill aimed at freeing both the former president and hundreds of his supporters who stormed and vandalized government buildings in January 2023. Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, a prominent Bolsonaro supporter, has publicly promised to pardon Bolsonaro if he wins the presidency in the next election, despite the fact that Bolsonaro is barred from running for office until 2030. The former president, for his part, has continued to assert that he will compete in the 2026 presidential election, though the courts have ruled otherwise.
The international response to Bolsonaro’s conviction has also been notable. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of Bolsonaro, condemned the trial as a "witch hunt" and cited the proceedings as one of the reasons for imposing a 50-percent tariff on many Brazilian imports. The Trump administration also sanctioned one of the judges involved in the trial, further straining relations between the two countries.
Bolsonaro’s legal woes are not limited to the coup plot conviction. On the same day as his hospitalization, a federal court ordered him to pay 1 million reais (approximately $188,865) in damages for collective moral harm stemming from racist comments he made while in office. The inquiry originated from a 2021 incident in which Bolsonaro joked to a Black supporter about seeing a cockroach in the man’s hair and compared the hairstyle to a "cockroach breeding ground," implying it was unclean. His legal team has previously argued that the remarks were intended as jokes rather than racist statements, denying any intent to cause offense. There was no immediate comment from his lawyers following the latest court order.
As Bolsonaro awaits the outcome of his appeal, his supporters and detractors alike are watching closely. His lawyers have cited his health problems as a reason for his absence from the verdict phase of his trial, and his current condition may further complicate the legal process. The former president remains under house arrest at his residence in Brasilia, monitored by authorities and subject to strict conditions, including a ban on social media use.
The weeks ahead promise to be a critical period for both Bolsonaro and Brazil’s political landscape. With the Supreme Court’s final ruling pending and his health in question, the fate of one of the country’s most polarizing figures hangs in the balance. Whether Bolsonaro’s legal team will succeed in securing leniency based on his medical condition, or whether the courts will enforce his historic sentence, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the debate over the future of Brazilian democracy continues to rage in Congress, on the streets, and in households across the nation.
For now, Jair Bolsonaro’s journey from the presidency to the center of a constitutional crisis—and now to a hospital bed—serves as a stark reminder of the turbulent state of Brazilian politics and the enduring challenges facing its democracy.