Brazilian police arrest Bolsonaro amid suspicions he was about to flee | Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil’s former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested at his villa in the capital Brasília on suspicion of preparing to flee to a foreign embassy to avoid prison for plotting a military coup.

Federal police with a brief description approved officers had issued a preventive arrest warrant at the request of the high court. The 70-year-old politician was taken to a federal police base 7 miles away from the presidential palace he occupied from 2019 to 2022, when he lost the election and tried to launch a military coup.

The arrest of Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, was ordered by supreme court judge Alexandre de Moraes as a result of fears that the former president could flee to one of the many diplomatic compounds in Brasília to avoid punishment for his failed power grab.

In September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for plotting a coup to stop the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the winner of the 2022 elections. However, while a series of legal procedures and appeals are ongoing, the court has not yet decided to sentence Bolsonaro to prison for these crimes.

Amid growing speculation that Bolsonaro will be imprisoned in the coming days, supporters were planning to hold a “vigil” on Saturday night outside the luxury apartment building where their leader lives under house arrest.

The protest was called by Bolsonaro’s son, senator Flávio Bolsonaro, in a social media video: “Are you going to fight for your country or are you going to watch everything on your mobile phone while sitting on your couch at home?” He invited the Bolsonaristas to “come and fight with us.”

In his ruling ordering Bolsonaro’s arrest on Saturday morning, Moraes said it was possible the seizure was used as a diversion to help the former president escape to a foreign embassy.

Adding to these suspicions, Moraes said Bolsonaro’s electronic ankle monitor was tampered with at 12:08 a.m. Saturday. This suggested that “the prisoner, aided by the confusion caused by his protest at the call of his son, planned to break his ankle monitor to ensure his escape was successful.”

Moraes noted that Bolsonaro, who counts US President Donald Trump among his international allies, lives about 15 minutes away from the US embassy. In August, Bolsonaro was accused of seeking asylum in Argentina, where another right-wing ally, Javier Milei, is in power. In 2024, Bolsonaro mysteriously spent two nights in the Hungarian embassy.

Speculation that Bolsonaro’s arrest is imminent has reached fever pitch in recent days, with allies expressing outrage at the prospect of the former president being sent to a maximum-security prison in Brazil called Papuda.

Lula supporters expressed satisfaction that the former president appeared to be in prison. Workers’ Party (PT) congressman Reimont Otoni pointed out that Bolsonaro’s plan included assassinating Lula and said, “The message given to Brazil and the world is that crime does not work.”

Bolsonaro’s evangelical wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, responded to her husband’s arrest by posting a quote from Psalm 121 on social media. “The Lord will keep you from all harm; he will guard your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going, now and forever,” he said.

Congressman Sóstenes Cavalcante, one of Bolsonaro’s closest allies, called the arrest “the biggest event.” [act of] “Political persecution in Brazilian history.”

Bolsonaro’s lawyers expressed “deep shock” that their client was detained in a sparsely decorated 12 square meter police bedroom and vowed to appeal a decision they claimed would put the former president’s life at risk given his “fragile” health.

Talíria Petrone, a leftist congresswoman from Rio, captured the jubilation among progressives as Bolsonaro’s critics were filmed opening bottles of sparkling wine and setting off fireworks in front of federal police headquarters. “The alarm clock sounded different today: it was the news of Bolsonaro’s arrest that brightened the morning,” he tweeted, adding: “Brazil is smiling. A great day.”

Petra Costa, a filmmaker and director of documentaries about Bolsonaro’s attacks on Brazilian democracy, was also celebrating. “Brazil succeeded where America failed. It brought to justice a former president who attacked democracy,” he wrote on Facebook.