On his initial day in jail, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro informed a judge on Sunday that he had tampered with his ankle monitor the previous day while on house arrest due to a nervous breakdown and hallucinations triggered by a medication change. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the 70-year-old ex-leader’s preventive detention on Saturday citing flight risk concerns. Bolsonaro was handed a 27-year prison sentence in September for plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election.
Assistant judge Luciana Sorrentino stated that Bolsonaro claimed he experienced ‘hallucinations’ about being wiretapped through the ankle monitor, prompting him to tamper with it. He mentioned that he had not encountered such a severe breakdown before and attributed it to a recent medication adjustment. Bolsonaro denied any intention of fleeing and expressed difficulty sleeping and feelings of paranoia that led him to investigate the ankle monitor.
According to the document, Bolsonaro mentioned that he was at home with his daughter, elder brother, and an aide, none of whom noticed his actions on the ankle monitor. He admitted to touching it late at night, stopping around midnight. De Moraes was informed that Bolsonaro’s ankle monitor was tampered with at 12:08 a.m. on Saturday, leading to the subsequent arrest order.
In September, Brazil’s Supreme Court panel found Bolsonaro guilty of attempting a coup to retain power after losing to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 election. The panel will deliberate on the preventive arrest order on Monday.
The meeting between Bolsonaro and the assistant judge aimed to address the legality of his detention and allowed his legal team to argue for house arrest on health grounds, a plea that had been previously denied. De Moraes permitted Bolsonaro to receive a visit from former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who was away from Brasilia during his arrest.
Lula commented on Bolsonaro’s imprisonment at the G20 summit in South Africa, stating, “The court has made its decision, and everyone is aware of his actions.” Outside the federal police headquarters, supporters of Bolsonaro called for the removal of Lula and de Moraes from their positions, while opponents of the former president celebrated his incarceration.