Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was taken into federal police custody on Saturday, hours before a planned vigil by his supporters outside his home in Brasilia. The move ends months of house arrest as he appeals a Supreme Court conviction for plotting a coup.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the detention, citing the risk that crowds gathering near Bolsonaro’s residence could obstruct police monitoring and potentially enable his escape. Moraes also noted evidence of tampering with the ex-president’s ankle monitor the previous night.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers confirmed the detention, saying the vigil was the main reason for the judge’s decision, and pledged to file an appeal. Federal police said the former president underwent intake examinations in Brasilia early Saturday. In their statement, Bolsonaro’s legal team described the arrest as “deep perplexity,” arguing that the vigil was a constitutional right under religious freedom. They added that Bolsonaro was detained at home while under surveillance and wearing an electronic monitor.
The detention order will be reviewed by a Supreme Court panel on Monday. Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a plot to prevent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from assuming office after winning the 2022 presidential election. Although identified as the scheme’s leader, Bolsonaro has not yet exhausted his appeals, meaning a final arrest order in that case has not been issued.
For more than 100 days, he had been under house arrest in a separate case involving alleged attempts to solicit U.S. interference in his legal proceedings. During that period, he was barred from social media but continued to receive visits from political allies. His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, urged supporters to gather outside the family condominium on Saturday, posting a video online calling on them to “fight back and rescue Brazil.”
Bolsonaro’s defense team is expected to seek permission for him to serve any eventual prison sentence under house arrest, citing health concerns linked to a stabbing he suffered during his 2018 campaign. He has a history of hospitalizations and surgeries related to the attack.
Bolsonaro has already been banned from running for office until 2030 after Brazil’s electoral court found him guilty of abusing his position during the 2022 campaign. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has denounced the case as a “witch hunt,” sanctioning Justice Moraes and imposing tariffs on Brazilian goods, though he began rolling back some of those measures earlier this month.
