Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody on Saturday at his home in Brasília, after authorities moved to stop what they described as a potential “attempted escape,” just days before he was scheduled to begin serving a prison term for orchestrating a coup attempt, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil.
Federal Police, in a statement cited by CNN Brasil, confirmed they carried out a preventive arrest warrant that had been both requested by the police and approved by the Supreme Court.
The operation was executed at the former president’s residence in the capital.
CNN Brasil reported that the preventive detention order was prompted by a vigil organized by Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, outside the residential complex where the ex-president lives.
Sources told the outlet that the event raised alarms among authorities.
According to Brazil’s Supreme Court, it received intelligence indicating that the “summoning of supporters” to the planned vigil suggested a “high possibility of an attempted escape.” The court warned that the gathering could “reach a large scale” and continue for days, potentially creating “unpredictable effects, developments, and consequences.”
The court also noted it had been alerted to an apparent tampering with Bolsonaro’s electronic monitoring device early Saturday morning.
“The information confirms the convict’s intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet in order to ensure the success of his escape, facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration,” the court said.
Flávio Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to CNN Brasil’s request for comment.
Earlier this year, Bolsonaro received a 27-year prison sentence after being found guilty of attempting to cling to power following his 2022 election loss to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He had since been serving house arrest. Four of the five Supreme Court justices on the panel ruled him guilty on all five charges.
In addition to plotting a coup, the former president was convicted of involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempting to dismantle Brazil’s democratic framework through force, engaging in violent acts against state institutions, and causing damage to protected government facilities during the January 8, 2023 attack carried out by his supporters.
Bolsonaro has consistently claimed the case against him is a political persecution.
Earlier this month, several high-ranking military officers and a federal police official were also given prison sentences after Supreme Court justices found them guilty of participating in a coup attempt and conspiring to assassinate Lula da Silva.f
