Vigil by son, ankle-bracelet alert: Why Brazil ex-president Bolsonaro was detained before starting jail term

Federal Police said the Supreme Court authorised a preventive arrest warrant to prevent a possible attempted escape.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was detained on Saturday at his residence in Brasília to prevent a possible “attempted escape,” days before he was due to begin serving a prison sentence for leading a coup attempt, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil.

In a statement cited by CNN Brasil, Brazil’s Federal Police said it executed a preventive arrest warrant that had been requested by police and authorised by the Supreme Court. Bolsonaro was arrested at his home in the capital.

Vigil cited as trigger for detention request

Sources told CNN Brasil that a vigil organised by Bolsonaro’s oldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, outside the residential complex where the former president lives prompted police to seek preventive detention.

Brazil’s Supreme Court said it had received information about the “summoning of supporters” to the vigil, which it said indicated a “high possibility of an attempted escape.” The court said the gathering could grow large and last several days, potentially resulting in “unpredictable effects, developments, and consequences.”

Court flags alleged ankle-bracelet violation

The Supreme Court also said it had been informed that Bolsonaro’s electronic monitoring equipment was violated early Saturday.

“The information confirms the convict’s intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet in order to ensure the success of his escape, facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration,” the court said, according to CNN Brasil.

Background to conviction

Bolsonaro was sentenced earlier this year to 27 years in prison for plotting to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He has been under house arrest.

Four out of five justices on a Supreme Court panel voted to convict Bolsonaro on all five counts in the case, CNN Brasil reported. The convictions included plotting a coup d’état, taking part in an armed criminal organisation, attempting to abolish Brazil’s democratic order by force, committing violent acts against state institutions, and damaging protected public property during the storming of government buildings by supporters on January 8, 2023.

Bolsonaro has said the trial was a political witch hunt, according to CNN Brasil.

Wider crackdown linked to coup case

Earlier this month, CNN Brasil reported that high-ranking military officials and a federal police officer were sentenced to prison terms by a Supreme Court panel after being found guilty of attempting a coup and plotting to kill Lula da Silva.