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Brazil’s Top Court Orders Bolsonaro to Begin 27-Year Sentence

Justices cited a tampered ankle monitor as evidence of flight risk, ending further appeals.

Overview

  • Justice Alexandre de Moraes declared Jair Bolsonaro’s coup conviction final after his defense declined a last appeal, ordering him to serve the term at Federal Police headquarters in Brasília.
  • Authorities logged a 12:08 a.m. alert and released footage showing burn damage to his ankle monitor, with judges also noting a planned supporters’ vigil and the nearby U.S. embassy in assessing flight risk.
  • Bolsonaro told the court that medication-induced paranoia and hallucinations led him to use a soldering iron on the device, as his lawyers pressed for humanitarian house arrest and doctors halted a suspect prescription.
  • A four-judge Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld his preventive detention, with Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Cármen Lúcia joining de Moraes.
  • AFP reported the court also asked a military tribunal to decide whether to strip Bolsonaro of his captain’s rank, while his imprisonment reshapes Brazil’s right ahead of 2026 and draws reactions from U.S. President Donald Trump.