No Recourse Left: Imprisoned Bolsonaro Eyes Amnesty in Bid to Overturn Coup Plot Conviction

No Recourse Left: Imprisoned Bolsonaro Eyes Amnesty in Bid to Overturn Coup Plot Conviction

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was placed in preventive detention on Saturday at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília after allegedly attempting to tamper with the electronic ankle monitor he was required to wear under house arrest.

The order was issued in the early hours of Saturday by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who received an alert from the device just eight minutes after midnight and concluded there was a real risk of flight.

Despite objections from his defense, Brazil’s Supreme Court voted on Monday to keep the 70-year-old former president in police custody. His allies continue to insist on his innocence, demand his release, and call for the annulment of his 27-year prison sentence.

‘Hallucinations’?

After being taken into custody, Bolsonaro testified on Sunday before assistant judge Luciana Sorrento and denied attempting to flee. Instead, he said he had “hallucinations that the ankle monitor was being used for some type of espionage,” which led him to “try to open it.”

“He said he began touching it late at night and stopped around midnight,” Sorrento explained, noting that “he was at home with his daughter, his older brother, and an aide, and none of them saw what he was doing.”

Bolsonaro also reported having trouble sleeping in recent days, though he provided no further details.

Sorrento added that the former president told her he did “not recall having a breakdown of this magnitude before,” suggesting the episode could be related to a change in his medication.

Supreme Court Confirms His Detention

Since the beginning, Bolsonaro’s circle has argued that there was no real attempt to flee and that such an act would have been impossible given the conditions of his home confinement. They also stress that his fragile health — he has been hospitalized and undergone multiple medical procedures in recent months — makes returning home essential.

“He’s 70 years old and here he’s alone… Michelle [his wife] is the one who puts him to bed, wakes him up, makes sure everything is okay, that he sleeps well, that his bed is at the right incline,” his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, said.

Nevertheless, on Monday night a four-member Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld the order for Bolsonaro to remain in preventive detention.

“Bolsonaro confessed to breaking the ankle monitor, which constitutes a serious violation, a repeated breach of the precautionary measures that allowed him to remain under house arrest since August, and a clear sign of disrespect toward the Court,” De Moraes said.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, speaking from the G20 summit in South Africa, also weighed in: “The Court decided, and that’s settled. Everyone knows what he did.”

An Uncertain Future

Alongside this recent outcome, the trial for the attempted coup d’état, for which Bolsonaro and other collaborators were convicted in August, is already in its final phase.

This Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled on the matter and finally ratified the 27-year prison sentence on the former president, while he remains barred from holding public office.

The news was confirmed by De Moraes, who indicated that the case had reached its ‘transit in judgment’, which in the Brazilian legal system means that no higher instance can review the sentence already issued.

Other defendants, such as Generals Augusto Heleno, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, and Walter Braga Netto, made use of their last resources this Monday and presented appeals, awaiting a favorable resolution in the coup plot.

In other words, now Bolsonaro is left with only two choices: either spend time behind bars or be granted an amnesty, which his son, Flávio Bolsonaro said in recent hours that he will push ahead through a bill.

“Our only goal from this moment on is the approval of the amnesty. We will pursue it throughout 2026,” he told reporters, downplaying the remaining legal tools to reduce the sentence.

Months ago, when first introduced, the idea was strongly supported within the Liberal Party but in recent days members of the Centrao bloc have expressed skepticism about the proposal, particularly after images emerged showing Bolsonaro admitting he attempted to tamper with the ankle monitor.

Succession

Against this backdrop, the future of Brazil’s far right remains uncertain.

Without a successful appeal, Bolsonaro will be barred from seeking public office until 2030, effectively removing him from next year’s presidential race.

However, he still retains significant political influence, and many believe that even from prison he could play a decisive role in choosing his coalition’s next standard-bearer.

São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas is seen as the natural successor, though resistance persists within Bolsonaro’s base. Flávio Bolsonaro is viewed as a stronger alternative.

Paraná Governor Carlos Roberto Massa Jr. and Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite also appear among the possible contenders — especially after voicing support for the former president in light of recent events.