brazilian authorities arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday, escalating a dramatic legal saga that threatens to further destabilize the country’s political landscape. The preventative arrest, authorized by the Supreme Federal Court, came amid fears Bolsonaro was planning to flee Brazil to avoid a 27-year prison sentence related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2022 election results [[1]].The move follows a breach in his electronic monitoring and a planned rally by supporters, raising concerns about a potential challenge to the democratic order [[3]].
CNN
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Brazilian authorities arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday at his residence in Brasília, acting to prevent a potential flight as he faces charges related to an alleged attempt to subvert the country’s democratic process. The move comes days before he is scheduled to begin serving a sentence handed down by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court.
Federal Police executed a preventative arrest warrant requested by law enforcement and authorized by the Supreme Federal Court, CNN Brasil reported. Bolsonaro was taken into custody at his home in the capital.
The arrest followed a planned vigil organized by Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, outside the residential complex where the former president lives. This gathering prompted authorities to seek the preventative detention order, according to sources who spoke with CNN Brasil.
Senator Bolsonaro described the vigil, initially scheduled for Saturday night local time, as an opportunity to pray for his father following recent reports of health concerns and “for the return of democracy to our country.”
“Will you fight for your country or simply watch everything unfold from your couch?” he asked his followers in a social media video.
The Supreme Federal Court stated it had received intelligence regarding the “call for supporters” to attend the vigil, indicating a “high probability of an attempted escape.”
The court warned that the gathering could “reach a large scale” and potentially last for several days, leading to “unpredictable effects, developments, and consequences.”
Furthermore, the court reported a breach in Bolsonaro’s electronic monitoring equipment early Saturday morning.
“The information confirms the intent of the convicted individual to remove the electronic ankle monitor to ensure the success of his flight, facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration,” the court stated.
Flávio Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN Brasil. In a statement, Jair Bolsonaro’s lawyers refuted claims that he was attempting to flee, CNN Brasil reported.
“The fact is that the former president was detained at his home, with an electronic monitoring device on his ankle and under police surveillance,” the lawyers said in their statement. “Furthermore, Jair Bolsonaro’s health is delicate, and his detention could endanger his life.”
The lawyers added that the right to assembly is protected by law, referencing the planned vigil.
Jair Bolsonaro was previously sentenced earlier this year to 27 years in prison for conspiring to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and had been under house arrest.
Four of the five justices on Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court voted to convict Bolsonaro on all five charges in the landmark case.
In addition to plotting a coup, Bolsonaro was found guilty of participating in an armed criminal organization, attempting to abolish Brazil’s democratic order by force, committing acts of violence against state institutions, and damaging public property protected during the attack on government buildings by his supporters on January 8, 2023.
Bolsonaro has consistently maintained that the trial was a politically motivated witch hunt.
Earlier this month, senior military officials and a federal police agent were also sentenced to prison after a panel of judges from the Brazilian Supreme Court found them guilty of attempted coup d’état and conspiracy to murder Lula da Silva.
Julia Vargas Jones and Michael Rios, of CNN, contributed to this report.
