STF Panel Unanimously Upholds Preventive Detention of Jair Bolsonaro

Overview

• All four justices of the Supreme Court’s First Chamber confirmed Alexandre de Moraes’s order converting Bolsonaro’s house arrest into preventive detention in a virtual session on Monday.
• Votes cited a SEAP-DF video and report showing the ankle monitor burned and Bolsonaro’s own admission that he used a soldering iron, alongside concern over a supporter vigil near his residence.
• Flávio Dino referenced the risk of disorder reminiscent of 8 January 2023 and pointed to recent escapes abroad by allied figures as aggravating factors for flight risk.
• In a custody hearing, Bolsonaro said he acted during a medication-induced “paranoia” and “hallucination,” denied intent to flee, and claimed the strap was not broken, though the device was damaged.
• Bolsonaro remains held at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília as his lawyers seek humanitarian house arrest on medical grounds, while the PL convened an emergency meeting to press political responses including an amnesty push.