Bolsonaro accused of plotting to escape

Brazil's federal police Saturday arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro over suspicion he was plotting to escape and avoid starting a 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt.

- By Mauricio SAVARESE

In a dramatic and unexpected twist in the final stage of a long and divisive criminal trial, federal agents entered Bolsonaro’s house early Saturday under the order of a Supreme Court justice to take the former president to the headquarters of the country’s federal police in the capital, Brasilia.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case on Bolsonaro’s attempt to remain in office after his defeat to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the 2022 presidential election, ordered the preemptive arrest after saying the far-right leader's ankle monitor was violated at 12:08 a.m. Saturday. In a statement, his lawyers disputed that assertion.

Bolsonaro, 70, who had been under house arrest, was ordered to wear the device after being deemed a flight risk. His aide Andriely Cirino confirmed to the Associated Press that the arrest took place around 6 a.m. Saturday.

De Moraes said the arrest was a preventive measure to avoid a potential escape during a protest organized by his son later Saturday.