Brazil’s federal police arrested former president Jair Bolsonaro early Saturday, after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered a preemptive detention over suspicion he was plotting to escape and avoid serving a 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt, the Associated Press reported.
Federal agents entered Bolsonaro’s home in Brasilia at dawn, taking him to police headquarters. De Moraes said the far-right leader’s ankle monitor was violated at 12:08 a.m., though Bolsonaro’s lawyers denied it. Later, custody agents reported Bolsonaro admitted using a soldering iron to try to open the device, with court footage showing the monitor’s cap heavily damaged.
Bolsonaro, 70, had been under house arrest since August, deemed a flight risk. His aide confirmed the arrest at 6:00 a.m. Hours later, supporters and detractors clashed outside police headquarters, forcing officers to separate the sides.
De Moraes said the arrest was meant to prevent escape during a protest organized by Bolsonaro’s son.
The judge warned Bolsonaro could flee to the US Embassy, just 13 kilometers away, and cited messages linking him to a political asylum request in Argentina under ally Javier Milei.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers argued the arrest was based on a “vigil for prayer” rather than a protest. The Supreme Court panel that convicted him 4-1 in September will vote Monday on whether to uphold the arrest.
Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison after a Supreme Court panel convicted him of plotting a coup.
Brazilian prosecutors have blamed Bolsonaro's statements against the country's voting system for a violent invasion of the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in January of 2023 by supporters angry about Bolsonaro’s electoral loss to da Silva.
In June of that year, a Brazilian court barred Bolsonaro from holding public office for eight years.
Prosecutors also allege that part of the plan involved an attempt to assassinate Lula, his vice president, and a Supreme Court minister.
Bolsonaro, who served as Brazil's president from 2019-2022, claims he is the victim of a politically motivated persecution.