Brazil’s political tensions deepen as Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro is detained for allegedly tampering with his ankle monitor amid fears of an escape.
Brazil’s political turmoil sharpened on Saturday November 23, 2025, after former President Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody over allegations that he attempted to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor in preparation for an escape from house arrest. The move comes just days before he was scheduled to begin a lengthy prison sentence for orchestrating an attempted coup following his 2022 election defeat.
Federal Police officers detained Bolsonaro at his Brasília residence after authorities said he used a soldering iron to partially melt the casing of his monitoring device. A Supreme Court judge approved the preventive arrest, citing what the court described as a “high possibility” that he was preparing to flee with the help of a rally being organized by his eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
Officials said they received warnings that supporters were being summoned to the vigil outside the apartment complex, potentially creating a distraction to facilitate an escape. The court later released footage showing Bolsonaro acknowledging that he had applied heat to the ankle monitor, though he insisted he acted out of “curiosity” rather than with the intention of removing the device.
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Bolsonaro’s lawyers denied the escape allegations and announced plans to appeal, arguing that the former president has been under constant armed surveillance and would have been physically unable to leave his home. They also warned that Bolsonaro’s health is fragile and that imprisonment could endanger his life.
The arrest sparked condemnation from Washington, where Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted on X that the United States was “gravely concerned,” criticizing the Brazilian judiciary for what he called an “unnecessary” escalation. The Trump administration has repeatedly spoken out against Bolsonaro’s prosecution, describing the legal campaign against him as politically motivated.
Bolsonaro was sentenced earlier this year to 27 years in prison after a Supreme Court panel convicted him on charges including plotting a coup d’état, participating in an armed criminal organization, attempting to overturn Brazil’s democratic order, and enabling violent attacks on government institutions. His supporters stormed key government buildings on January 8, 2023, in scenes that drew global concern.
Several high-ranking military officials and a Federal Police Officer were also convicted this month for participating in alleged plots to destabilize President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday November 23, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump—who has maintained close ties with Bolsonaro—said he had not yet been informed of the arrest but added that it was “too bad.” The U.S. recently eased tariff measures on Brazilian exports following months of diplomatic strain.
Bolsonaro maintains that the charges against him amount to a politically driven “witch hunt,” a claim he has repeated throughout the judicial proceedings. The latest arrest is set to intensify divisions in Brazil, where political fault lines remain deep nearly two years after the country’s most turbulent transition of power in decades.
