Former President Jair Bolsonaro was placed in preventive detention on Saturday (November 22, 2025) by order of STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes after attempting to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor using a soldering iron. The defense claims the act was due to medication side effects, while the left assesses that the arrest could divide the right. Bolsonaro is at the PF Superintendency in Brasília, receiving medical care.
Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for leading the coup plot, had been under house arrest since August 4, 2025, with electronic monitoring. In the early hours of November 22, he admitted in a custody hearing to using a soldering iron to try to open the ankle monitor, claiming 'paranoia' caused by medications affecting the central nervous system, leading to persecutory thoughts.
Unpublished images released by the PF and aired by Fantástico show targeted damage to the device's casing, with melting incompatible with technical failure. Moraes ordered preventive detention citing flight risk to the US embassy and equipment violation, endorsed by the PGR. Bolsonaro was transferred to a special room at the PF Superintendency in Brasília, with bed, private bathroom, and round-the-clock medical care.
The defense requested revocation of the arrest and humanitarian house arrest, denying flight risk and highlighting constant surveillance in the condominium. Penal law experts, like Pierpaolo Bottini from USP, state the conduct undermines trust for future house arrest, hindering judicial persuasion. 'In general, what monitors house arrest compliance is precisely that device,' Bottini said.
PT Chamber leader Lindbergh Farias petitioned the STF to investigate the soldering iron's origin, expertise, fingerprints, and possible involvement of Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro, citing a vigil called by Flávio and Eduardo's statement on flight of investigated individuals. The left, like Deputy Jilmar Tatto (PT-SP), views the Bolsonaro family as an 'army of Brancaleone' of blunders, predicting right-wing division. The evangelical bloc expressed solidarity, deeming the arrest disproportionate and impactful for Christians, shaking institutional trust.
The defense reported mental confusion and hallucinations, with doctors Cláudio Birolini and Leandro Echenique confirming side effects. Michelle Bolsonaro visited her husband at the PF on Sunday (November 23), amid supporters.
