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Brazil’s Supreme Court Orders Preventive Arrest of Jair Bolsonaro Over Alleged Ankle‑Monitor Tampering

He is being held at the Federal Police complex in Brasília pending a custody hearing Sunday and a panel vote Monday on the order.

Overview

  • Federal Police executed the Supreme Court’s preventive detention order early Saturday after the monitoring center flagged an alteration to Bolsonaro’s ankle device at 12:08 a.m., with the judge citing an elevated flight risk.
  • The ruling says a vigil called by his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, could create confusion to aid an escape, and notes the former president’s home is near Brasília’s embassy sector.
  • The arrest is a preventive measure to safeguard public order and does not begin the 27‑year, 3‑month sentence imposed in September for leading a plot to block the 2022 transfer of power.
  • Justice Alexandre de Moraes also referenced recent evasions by allies, including former intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem, as context for the risk assessment.
  • Bolsonaro was moved from house arrest to a special room at Federal Police headquarters with instructions for no handcuffs and medical access; his lawyers’ bid for home confinement on health grounds was rejected, with further appeals pending.