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Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin a prison sentence of more than 27 years for plotting a coup in 2022, according to a court document.
Bolsonaro was convicted for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election
Thomson Reuters
· Posted: Nov 25, 2025 3:35 PM EST | Last Updated: 29 minutes ago
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Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro started serving his 27-year prison sentence Tuesday for leading a coup attempt designed to keep him in office after losing the 2022 presidential elections. It's move that many in the South American nation doubted would ever take place.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro incarcerated at Brazil's Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia, where he has been detained since Saturday after authorities said he removed his ankle monitor with a soldering iron.
Bolsonaro will not have any contact with the few other inmates at the federal police headquarters. His 12-square-metre room has a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV set and a desk, according to federal police.
Brazil's criminal law also could have allowed the 70-year-old to be transferred to a local penitentiary or to a prison room in a military facility in capital Brasilia.
The former president and several of his allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil's democracy following his 2022 election defeat.
The plot included plans to kill President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice de Moraes. The plan also involved egging on an insurrection in early 2023.
The former president was also found guilty of charges including leading an armed criminal organization and of attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.
Bolsonaro has always denied wrongdoing.
Earlier on Tuesday, the country's top court formally concluded Bolsonaro's coup-plotting case, ruling that all appeals were exhausted and the guilty verdict had become final. It rejected his appeal this month.
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Still a key political figure
Bolsonaro remains a key figure in Brazilian politics, despite being ineligible to run again at least until 2030 after a separate ruling by Brazil's top electoral court. Polls show he would be a competitive candidate in next year's vote if allowed to run.
The former president is an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called the trial of the former Brazilian leader a "witch hunt." Bolsonaro was mentioned in a July order by the U.S. administration to raise tariffs on several Brazilian exports by 50 per cent tariffs.
Before his detention on Saturday, Bolsonaro spent more than 100 days under house arrest in Brasilia in a separate case over allegations he asked Trump to disrupt prosecution against him.
Relations between the two countries have improved since, with Lula and Trump meeting in Malaysia at the ASEAN summit in October. Most of those higher tariffs have been dropped.
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