Bolsonaro Tries to Explain Ankle Monitor Breach: 'Ha...

By Mandy Taheri

Politics and Culture Reporter

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Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told a judge on Sunday that his ankle monitor violation early Saturday morning, which led to his arrest, was due to “hallucinations."

The former leader told assistant judge Luciana Sorrentino that he was not attempting to flee his prison sentence but that he had some "paranoia" from medication leading him to investigate his ankle monitor.

Why It Matters

Bolsonaro was arrested on Saturday on an order from the country’s Supreme Court over accusations of plotting to flee ahead of his nearly three-decade prison sentence, the Federal Police confirmed.

In September, Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro, 70, who led the country from 2019 to 2022, of attempting a coupe to stay in power after his election loss. He was sentenced to 27 years and has been on house arrest with an ankle monitor since August.

Bolsonaro was convicted on five counts, including attempting to violently undermine Brazil’s democratic order and participating in an armed criminal organization, among others. The former president is close allies with President Donald Trump, who previously said in July that Brazil was enacting a "political execution" against Bolsonaro that is "terrible," and a "witch hunt."

What To Know

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro’s arrest after he claimed Bolsonaro's ankle monitor was violated early Saturday morning, according to the Associated Press. Moraes said he suspected Bolsonaro was preparing to flee in the days before he was due to begin his prison sentence. The former president was ordered to wear an ankle monitor as the court previously deemed him as a flight risk.

He was escorted from his home to police headquarters in Brasilia about 6 a.m. Saturday, and has been in custody since.

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On Sunday, Sorrentino said Bolsonaro told her during an online meeting, “he had ‘hallucinations’ that there was some wire tap in the ankle monitoring, so he tried to uncover it.” He remarked that he had “a certain paranoia” about the monitor but did not specify what exactly. The document said Bolsonaro was using a soldering iron on the ankle monitor before he “came to his senses.”

Sorrentino noted that Bolsonaro informed her that he “did not remember having a breakdown of this magnitude in another occasion,” adding that it may have been caused from a medication change in recent days, the AP reported.

Reuters, citing a document that detailed the conversation, reported that he was taking a new mix of medications prescribed by different doctors, changed just four days before the episode. An online copy of a Portuguese order posted by journalist Leandro Demori noted that the drugs include a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and one that treats nerve pain. The Guardian also reported Bolsonaro attributed the paranoia to "a powerful analgesic and an antidepressant." He also was reportedly not sleeping well for several days.

Bolsonaro maintained that he did not intend to flee as Moraes believed.

News of his arrest Saturday drew mixed reactions, with opponents celebrating and supporters gathering for vigils and protests.

Former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro met with her husband on Sunday.

What People Are Saying

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said about Bolsonaro at the G20 meeting in South Africa, per the AP: “The court ruled, that’s decided. Everyone knows what he did.”

Arthur Lira, Brazilian lawyer and politician, wrote in Portuguese in an X post: "The preventive detention of former president Jair Bolsonaro is not justified and reopens the wounds of political polarization that clouds Brazil's future. No country can be proud of having its last presidents imprisoned."

President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday that Bolsonaro’s arrest is “too bad.”

Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro’s former press adviser and lawyer, said in an X post Saturday in Portuguese: "The preventive arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro, decreed this morning, causes profound perplexity, mainly because, as the chronology of the facts demonstrates (representation made on 11/21), it is based on a prayer vigil. The 1988 Constitution, correctly, guarantees the right of assembly to all, especially to ensure religious freedom. Despite claiming the “existence of very serious indications of possible flight,” the fact is that the former President was arrested at his home, with an electronic ankle monitor and being watched by the police authorities. In addition, Jair Bolsonaro's health condition is delicate and his arrest may put his life at risk. The defense will file the appropriate appeal."