Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president convicted of plotting a coup, has blamed drug-induced “paranoia” for the damage he caused to his ankle monitor, a day after he was removed from house arrest and taken to prison.
At a hearing in Brasilia, he admitted trying to open the monitor with a soldering iron on Friday until he “came to his senses,” court documents show. He said he had no intention of fleeing.
Authorities say the 70-year-old right-wing politician was detained because he was a flight risk before a vigil by his supporters outside his home. He will remain detained.
In September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for the coup plot.
Bolsonaro is detained in a police station in the capital.
Their legal troubles have drawn the ire of right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after losing the 2022 election to his leftist rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court judges said he knew of a plot that included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and arrest and execute Moraes, who has been overseeing Bolsonaro’s trial.
The conspiracy failed to gain the support of army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia. Security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges determined that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the military to intervene and return him to power.
Bolsonaro was also banned from running for public office until 2060, eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him from running in the 2026 presidential election.
