Bolsonaro was arrested by Brazilian authorities on a preventive warrant linked to an alleged escape attempt while awaiting his prison sentence for orchestrating a coup plot. The Supreme Court of Brazil ordered the arrest, citing evidence of tampering with his electronic monitoring device during early morning hours. Police detained him at his residence in Brasília following court approval.
The court expressed concerns about the possibility of an escape, noting irregularities in Bolsonaro’s ankle monitor. A video released by the court showed him admitting to using a soldering iron on the device, though he claimed it was out of curiosity rather than an attempt to remove it. His legal team dismissed the escape claims, stating he was under constant surveillance by armed officers, making any attempt to flee impossible.
Bolsonaro was previously sentenced to 27 years in prison this year for plotting to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The court found him guilty of participating in an armed criminal group, attempting to dismantle democratic order by force, and damaging protected public property during the storming of government buildings by his supporters in January 2023.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau criticized the arrest, stating, “The U.S. is gravely concerned by his latest attack on the rule of law and political stability in Brazil: the provocative and unnecessary incarceration of former President Bolsonaro, who was already under house arrest under heavy guard and extreme limitations on communication.” Landau noted that Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the arrest, warning that “there is nothing more dangerous to democracy than a judge who knows no limits on his power.”
Bolsonaro’s legal team argued his health remains fragile, warning that jail could put his life at risk. President Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally, expressed unaware of the arrest, calling it “too bad.”
