Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was detained at his home in the Brazilian capital on Saturday to thwart a possible escape attempt, days before he was to begin his sentence for leading a coup attempt, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil.
Federal police said in a statement that they executed a preventive arrest warrant requested by the police and approved by the Supreme Court, CNN Brazil reported. He was arrested at his home in Brasilia.
Sources told CNN Brasil that the call for preventive detention was triggered by a vigil organized by Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, in front of the former president’s apartment complex.
Brazil’s Supreme Court said it had received information about a “summoning of supporters” to the vigil that indicated “a likely escape attempt”.
The court said the gathering could reach a “massive scale” and span several speeches, resulting in “unpredictable effects, developments and consequences.”
The court also said it received reports of a breach of Bolsonaro’s electronic monitoring device early Saturday morning.
“This information confirms the convict’s intention to destroy the electronic ankle bracelet in order to ensure the success of his escape, which was facilitated by the disruption caused by the demonstrations,” the court said.
Flavio Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to CNN Brazil’s request for comment.
Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest after being sentenced earlier this year to 27 years in prison for plotting to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Four out of five judges on the panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court voted to convict Bolsonaro on all five counts in the landmark case.
Bolsonaro was convicted not only of planning a coup, but also of joining an armed criminal organization, attempting to force the abolition of Brazil’s democratic order, committing acts of violence against state institutions, and damaging protected public property during the attack on government buildings by his supporters on January 8, 2023.
Bolsonaro has long argued that the trial amounted to a political witch hunt.
Earlier this month, a senior military official and a federal police officer were also sentenced to prison terms after a panel of Brazilian Supreme Court judges found them guilty of attempting a coup and plotting to kill Lula da Silva.
CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones and Michael Rios contributed reporting.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
