Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to begin a 27-year prison sentence for a coup plot against his successor, a climax to years of political turmoil and legal battles over his contentious legacy in Brazilian democracy. The top court formally concluded the case against Bolsonaro on Tuesday, making his conviction final, pending confirmation by a four-member Supreme Court panel in the evening. The panel already rejected his appeal this month. Justice Alexandre de Moraes told Bolsonaro to start serving his sentence in the Federal Police Superintendency in Brasilia, where he has been detained since Saturday after he tampered with his ankle monitor while under house arrest in a separate case. The decision was the latest setback for a politician who rose from the fringe far right to the presidency in 2019, reshaping national debates with a populist style, appeals to military nostalgia and polarizing stances that left the country deeply divided. Since leaving office in 2022, Bolsonaro has now been convicted, barred from public office and abandoned by one-time ally U.S. President Donald Trump, who has started reversing steep tariffs imposed to punish Bolsonaro’s prosecution. ‘Today is a memorable day for Brazilian democracy,” congressman Lindbergh Farias said on X. ‘For the first time in our history, we are seeing a former president of the Republic and generals being arrested for a coup d’état.’ One of the ex-president’s lawyers, Celso Vilardi, said the court rushed to conclude the case and should have allowed more time for appeals. His attorneys said they will keep fighting to challenge the outcome. Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to leftist current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro also served more than 100 days under house arrest in Brasilia while facing charges he solicited Trump’s interference on his behalf.