On the first day of his incarceration, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro informed a judge that he had damaged his ankle monitor the previous day while on house arrest due to experiencing a nervous breakdown and hallucinations resulting from a recent change in his medication. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the 70-year-old ex-leader’s preemptive detention on Saturday, citing concerns about his potential to flee. Bolsonaro had been sentenced to 27 years in prison in September for his involvement in an attempted coup to retain the presidency following his defeat in the 2022 election.
During an online meeting with the former president, assistant judge Luciana Sorrentino disclosed that Bolsonaro claimed he had hallucinated about a wiretap in his ankle monitor, prompting him to tamper with it. Bolsonaro expressed that he could not recall experiencing such a severe breakdown previously and attributed it to a recent alteration in his medication. He reiterated his denial of any intention to escape and mentioned that he had been struggling to sleep well and was feeling a sense of paranoia that led him to inspect the ankle monitor.
According to the official document, Bolsonaro mentioned that he was in the company of his daughter, older brother, and an aide at the time, none of whom witnessed his actions with the ankle monitor. The violation of the ankle monitor was detected at 12:08 a.m. on Saturday, leading to the subsequent arrest order.
In a September ruling, a Supreme Court panel concluded that Bolsonaro had attempted to orchestrate a coup to retain power after losing to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also known as Lula, in the 2022 election. The same panel is scheduled to vote on the preemptive arrest order on Monday.
Bolsonaro’s meeting with an assistant judge was primarily to address the legality of his detention, with his legal team advocating for his continued house arrest due to health concerns. Despite previous rejections of similar requests, De Moraes permitted Bolsonaro to receive a visit from his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, who was away from Brasilia when he was apprehended.
Lula commented on Bolsonaro’s imprisonment while attending the G20 summit in South Africa, stating, “The court has made its decision, and everyone knows the facts of the case.” At 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.