Brazil's Bolsonaro detained over flight risk, damaged ankle monitor

The detention in a 12-square-meter room in federal police headquarters in Brasilia marks the latest setback for Bolsonaro after U.S. President Donald Trump, his ideological ally, rolled back tariffs meant to derail his prosecution.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the detention ahead of a planned supporters' vigil outside Bolsonaro's home, which the judge said could undermine police monitoring of his house arrest.

"The tumult caused by an illegal gathering of the convict's supporters has a strong chance of putting at risk the house arrest and other precautionary measures, allowing for his eventual escape," Moraes wrote in his decision, seen by Reuters.

In a statement, Bolsonaro's lawyers said his detention caused "deep perplexity," adding that the planned "prayer vigil" was guaranteed by Brazil's Constitution under the right to religious freedom. His lawyers said they planned to appeal the detention order.

JUDGE CITES ESCAPE RISK

Moraes also cited evidence Bolsonaro had previously considered seeking asylum in the Argentine embassy in Brasilia. One of his sons, federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, and other close allies have fled Brazil to avoid the reach of the country's courts, the judge noted in his decision.

A Supreme Court panel will review the detention order on Monday.

Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro was identified as leader and main beneficiary of a scheme to prevent Lula from taking office in 2023. However, the courts have not yet issued a final arrest order in that case, as Bolsonaro has not exhausted the appeals process.

For now, he is detained in a small holding cell with a single bed, a television, air conditioning and a bathroom, according to a description and a video released by federal police.

For more than 100 days, Bolsonaro was kept under house arrest for violating precautionary measures in a separate case over allegedly courting U.S. interference to halt the criminal case against him.

In July, Trump, who was friendly with Bolsonaro when they were both in office, called the case a "witch hunt," imposed financial sanctions on Moraes and slapped a 50% tariff on many Brazilian goods, which he began to roll back this month.

'TOO BAD'

On Saturday afternoon, Trump told reporters outside the White House that he had been unaware of Bolsonaro's arrest.

"Is that what happened? That's too bad," he added. He said he had spoken to Lula on Friday and would be meeting with him soon.

In a harsher remark, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Washington was "gravely concerned" by Justice Moraes' "latest attack on the rule of law and political stability in Brazil."

"There is nothing more dangerous to democracy than a judge who knows no limits on his power," Landau wrote on X.

Few officials in Brazil's federal government commented on the matter. Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann was the highest-ranking cabinet official to do so.

"Bolsonaro's preventive detention strictly follows the rules of due process," she said on X. "Justice Alexandre de Moraes' decision is based on the real risk of escape by the leader of the coup organization."

'COME FIGHT WITH US,' SAYS BOLSONARO'S SON

While under house arrest, Bolsonaro was barred from using social media, but received visits from political allies.

His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, put out a call on social media a day earlier for supporters to gather outside his father's condominium in Brasilia on Saturday evening.

"I invite you to come fight with us," the senator said in a video posted online. "With your strength, the strength of the people, we'll fight back and rescue Brazil."

Dozens of Bolsonaro supporters gathered on Saturday night by a sound truck outside his gated community. They sang evangelical Christian hymns as Senator Bolsonaro wiped away tears, standing next to a cardboard cutout of his father.

If Bolsonaro's appeals are unsuccessful, his defense has said he should be allowed to serve his nearly three-decade sentence under house arrest, citing health issues.

After the detention on Saturday, Moraes issued a separate decision dismissing the defense's Friday request that Bolsonaro serve his sentence under "humanitarian house arrest."

The former president, who was stabbed in the abdomen during a 2018 campaign event, has a history of hospitalizations and surgeries related to the attack.

Bolsonaro had previously been banned from running for office until 2030 after Brazil's electoral court found him guilty of abusing his office during his 2022 re-election campaign.

SOLDERING IRON

Officials received an alert about a possible breach of Bolsonaro's ankle monitor shortly after midnight on Saturday, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Police officers at his residence then found the device with "clear and significant damage" and burn marks, it says.

In a video released with the authorization of Moraes, the former president can be heard admitting he used a soldering iron to burn the case of his ankle monitor.

"Curiosity," he added.

Officers replaced the device and Moraes ordered his arrest soon after.

In a ruling published later on Saturday, Moraes gave Bolsonaro's defense team 24 hours to explain the violation to the Supreme Court.