Brazil has entered uncharted political territory as former President Jair Bolsonaro, once the country’s most powerful man, began serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup attempt after his 2022 electoral defeat. The Supreme Federal Court’s (STF) decision, delivered after months of legal wrangling, marks the first time a Brazilian president has been convicted for attempting to overthrow the country’s democracy. The move has sent shockwaves through Brazil’s political establishment, sparked debate over the rule of law, and ignited passionate reactions across the nation’s deep ideological divide.
Bolsonaro, 70, was taken into custody at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia on Saturday, November 23, 2025, after violating the conditions of his house arrest by tampering with his electronic ankle monitor. According to Agencia Brasil, he confessed at a custody hearing to using an iron on the device, blaming his actions on a “nervous breakdown and hallucinations” brought on by a change in medication. However, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case, dismissed this explanation, writing in his decision that “Bolsonaro ... confessed he had broken the ankle monitoring in a serious foul play, repeated non-compliance with precautionary measures (that allowed him to stay in house arrest) and evident disrespect to the court.”
The STF’s First Panel, composed of Justices De Moraes, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia, and Cristiano Zanin, unanimously ratified the detention order. Justice Dino, in a written opinion, warned that a vigil organized by Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, outside the former president’s residence in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood of Brasília, posed “an unbearable threat to public order” and could have facilitated an escape. The court cited the recent flight of Congressman Alexandre Ramagem to the United States and other attempted escapes by Bolsonaro allies as evidence of a “deplorable criminal ecosystem.”
Bolsonaro’s legal team, meanwhile, argued that he was suffering from mental confusion due to drug interactions affecting his central nervous system. They had requested humanitarian house arrest on health grounds, but the court rejected this plea. As AP reported, his lawyers continued to file appeals up until the final hours, arguing that the court had acted prematurely by exhausting all avenues for appeal. However, on Tuesday, November 26, the Supreme Federal Court announced that the sentence was final and not subject to further challenge, clearing the way for Bolsonaro’s formal entry into prison.
The roots of Bolsonaro’s conviction trace back to his efforts to overturn the 2022 presidential election results, which saw leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva return to power. Prosecutors alleged that Bolsonaro led an armed criminal organization in a plot that included plans to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice De Moraes, as well as to incite an insurrection in January 2023. According to BTA and The Hindu, the scheme collapsed only due to a lack of military support. By a vote of 4 to 1, the STF found Bolsonaro guilty of leading the attempted coup and sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison.
The court’s decision has not only upended Bolsonaro’s personal fortunes but also reverberated throughout Brazil’s political class. Several of his close allies, including Army generals Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former justice minister Anderson Torres, Admiral Almir Garnier, and former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms and are now serving time in military or penitentiary facilities. Alexandre Ramagem, a lawmaker and former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency, remains at large in the United States.
Bolsonaro’s fall from grace has triggered a wave of demonstrations across Brazil, with supporters and detractors taking to the streets in cities nationwide. On a rainy Monday in Brasilia, crowds gathered outside the federal police headquarters, some honking in support of Lula, others venting their anger at what they see as judicial overreach. The former president’s son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, has vowed to push for an amnesty bill for his father throughout 2026, although momentum for such a move appears to be waning. Other right-leaning politicians are distancing themselves from the Bolsonaro family, with figures like São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas emerging as potential standard-bearers for the conservative movement.
Despite his incarceration and a separate ruling making him ineligible to run for office until at least 2030, Bolsonaro remains a potent force in Brazilian politics. Polls suggest he would be a competitive candidate in the 2026 presidential election if allowed to run. His alliance with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who called the trial a “witch hunt,” has drawn international attention. The U.S. administration had imposed tariffs and sanctions on Brazil in response to the trial, though most of these measures were dropped after Lula and Trump met at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia in October 2025, according to The Hindu. Lula’s handling of the crisis has, in some quarters, boosted his popularity as a defender of Brazilian sovereignty.
Bolsonaro’s legal saga is unprecedented but not entirely without precedent in Brazil’s turbulent political history. Former presidents Michel Temer and Lula himself have served time behind bars, while Fernando Collor de Mello is currently under house arrest for corruption. Yet, as The Hindu notes, Bolsonaro is the first ex-president convicted of attempting a coup. The magnitude of the case, the severity of the sentence, and the high-profile nature of the defendant have underscored the fragility and resilience of Brazil’s democratic institutions.
Inside his cell at police headquarters, Bolsonaro reportedly has access to a TV, mini-fridge, and air-conditioning, but his political future remains uncertain. His defense continues to protest the court’s handling of the case, while his supporters rail against what they term judicial activism. Critics argue that the STF’s actions were necessary to safeguard democracy and the rule of law in the face of an existential threat. The coming months are likely to see continued legal battles, political maneuvering, and public debate over the legacy of Jair Bolsonaro and the future of Brazilian democracy.
For now, the country watches as a once-unthinkable chapter of its history unfolds—a former president, convicted of plotting a coup, serving a lengthy prison term while his nation grapples with the meaning and consequences of justice at the highest level.
