Bolsonaro arrested and in preventative detention over flight fears

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Various Sources

Trump ally former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was arrested and placed in preventative detention on Saturday months after his conviction for attempting a coup, ahead of serving a 27-year prison sentence.

Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for orchestrating an attempted coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Supreme Court convicted him of trying to undermine Brazil’s democratic institutions.

He was taken into custody by federal police following a decision by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The detention occurred amid concerns that Bolsonaro was planning to escape the country and avoid his sentence -- possibly via the US embassy -- and was also linked to a supporters’ vigil near his residence that posed a risk to the legal monitoring measures in place. According to reports, Bolsonaro also attempted to tamper with his ankle monitor, further prompting preventive detention.

Bolsonaro’s preventative detention ends a period of house arrest during which he was allowed to remain free while appealing the Supreme Court conviction. He was transferred to police headquarters in Brasília.