Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was taken into federal police custody on Saturday after the Supreme Court deemed him a flight risk ahead of his impending 27-year prison sentence for orchestrating a coup attempt following his loss in the 2022 election.
The arrest followed reports that Bolsonaro had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor, damaging it with a soldering iron, and was linked to a planned supporters’ vigil outside his residence in Brasília, which the court saw as a threat to the monitoring measures.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorised the detention, highlighting the risk of Bolsonaro fleeing amid the unrest around the vigil organised by his son Flavio.
Despite admitting to damaging the ankle device, Bolsonaro’s defence insisted there was no escape intent and argued the planned vigil was a constitutionally protected religious event. They also cited his ongoing health problems, stemming from a 2018 stabbing, warning against imprisonment.
The Supreme Court is set to review the detention order, with Bolsonaro’s lawyers required to explain the ankle monitor violation quickly.
Politically, Bolsonaro’s son urged supporters to rally and resist, while government officials backed Moraes’ decision as judicious and lawful. International reactions were mixed, with some U.S. officials criticising the arrest as judicial overreach, though U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the case as a “witch hunt.”
Bolsonaro had been confined under house arrest for over 100 days on separate charges involving attempts to solicit U.S. interference in Brazil’s judiciary. He is also barred from holding office until 2030 due to election law violations.
His conviction includes leading a criminal plan to prevent Lula da Silva’s inauguration and inciting violence during the January 2023 attack on governmental institutions.