Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has reopened the case against former deputy Alexandre Ramagem for January 8-related crimes following the cassation of his mandate. Ramagem, sentenced to over 16 years in prison for a coup plot and a fugitive in the US, criticized the Federal Police for arresting an alleged accomplice in his escape. Brazil has requested his extradition from US authorities.
Alexandre Ramagem, former federal deputy for PL-RJ and former Abin director, was sentenced by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in September 2025 to 16 years and one month in prison for involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempt to violently abolish the Democratic Rule of Law, and coup d'état. After the conviction, he fled Brazil, traveling clandestinely from Boa Vista (RR) to Miami in the United States, where he has lived with his family since November.
On December 18, 2025, Ramagem and fellow party member Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) had their mandates cassated by the Chamber of Deputies' Board of Directors, under President Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), in compliance with Justice Alexandre de Moraes' order. With the loss of his mandate, Moraes reopened on Monday, December 22, the case against Ramagem for crimes committed after his inauguration, including qualified damage by violence and serious threat to Union property, and deterioration of listed heritage, related to the January 8, 2023 events.
The decision had suspended the trial while Ramagem was a deputy, but now orders instruction hearings with questioning of prosecution and defense witnesses, scheduled for February 5, 2026. Moraes also ordered the start of serving the sentence and extradition, with the request forwarded by the Ministry of Justice to the Itamaraty.
On the same day, the Chamber canceled the diplomatic passports of Ramagem and Eduardo Bolsonaro, though this does not immediately affect their stay in the US, according to US diplomatic sources. Ramagem denied receiving help to flee in an X post, criticizing the Federal Police for the arrest of Celso Rodrigo de Mello, son of prospector Rodrigo Cataratas, suspected of assisting him. 'The institutional persecution that led me to exile continues to legitimize itself through the creative expansion of imputations to persecute innocents,' he wrote, attaching a video titled 'Creativity to condemn innocents'.
