Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Detained Just Days Before Beginning 27-Year Prison Term – What We Know

The Federal Police’s detention of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has left a huge mark in Brazil’s political realm; this was a preventive step taken only a few days prior to the start of Bolsonaro’s long prison term.

The arrest, which was quite a surprise, took place at around 6 AM in his Bristol home as per the Supreme Court order. The former president was reportedly taken to the Federal Police station, who held the office from 2019 to 2022 was imprisoned.

This act marks a very powerful shift in the battle against Bolsonaro, giving the courts’ the assurance that they can handle even the most politically charged cases with the full force of the law.

Coup Plot Conviction and Sentence

Bolsonaro in this moment is facing legal controversies mainly because of his virtual coup attempt conviction to get back the power after the 2022 election loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Supreme Federal Court (STF) convicted the former president by declaring him guilty in September 2025 on several counts comprising the effort to overthrow the democratic regime.

The punishment for this extraordinary offense against democracy is a heavy 27-year and 3-month prison sentence. Thus, some see his conviction and looming imprisonment as a required confirmation of the strength of Brazil’s democracy, while his opponents claim the trial is nothing but a witch hunt.

The harshness of the sentence indicates how serious the charge was that concerned pulling down the whole democratic setup of the country.

Health Concerns and House Arrest Appeals

Even before being arrested, Bolsonaro’s attorneys were constantly trying to persuade the Supreme Court to let him spend his sentence in home arrest because of his very poor health.

Since his being stabbed in the course of his 2018 presidential campaign, the former president has been in the hospital several times and his lawyers say that he has very complicated medical needs consisting of intestinal problems and the need for specialized monitoring, and these cannot be fulfilled in the prison system that is standard.

He had already been in home arrest since August 2025 for not adhering to the precautionary measures set by the Supreme Court during the trial proceedings. His defense argues that putting him in a maximum-security prison like the Papuda prison complex would jeopardize his health severely, thus making this historic legal saga even more controversial.

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