Brazil’s Bolsonaro Ordered to Start 27-Year Prison Term for 2022 Coup Plot

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year and three-month prison sentence for orchestrating a coup attempt following his 2022 election defeat. Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled on Tuesday that the case has reached its final judgement, leaving no room for further appeals.
Bolsonaro, 70, was convicted of leading a conspiracy to remain in power after losing the election to left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has been detained in a federal police jail in Brasilia since Saturday after being removed from home detention due to being considered a flight risk. Court records show that Bolsonaro admitted attempting to tamper with his ankle monitor with a soldering iron, claiming medication-induced paranoia caused the damage.
The Supreme Court found that Bolsonaro had knowledge of plans to assassinate Lula and his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and to target Justice Moraes, who oversaw the trial. The conspiracy collapsed after failing to gain support from army and air force commanders. While Lula assumed office on 1 January 2023 without incident, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasília a week later, leading to 1,500 arrests.
In addition to the prison sentence, Bolsonaro is barred from holding public office until 2060 — eight years after completing his term. Justice Moraes also ordered that other co-conspirators, including Gen Augusto Heleno and Gen Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira, begin serving their sentences immediately. Bolsonaro has criticized the trial as a “witch hunt” aimed at preventing his candidacy in the 2026 presidential election.
The court emphasized that Bolsonaro’s actions incited violence and posed a direct threat to Brazil’s democratic institutions, marking one of the most significant convictions of a former leader in Latin American history.