Brazil is once again at the center of a political storm after the dramatic arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro on November 23, 2025. The 70-year-old ex-leader, who had been under house arrest in Brasilia, was taken into custody by federal police early Saturday morning amid allegations that he attempted to tamper with his ankle monitor and orchestrate an escape to avoid serving a 27-year prison sentence for his role in a failed coup attempt.
The events unfolded swiftly and with a sense of urgency that mirrored the polarized mood gripping the country. According to the Associated Press, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro’s preemptive arrest after surveillance indicated that the former president’s ankle monitor was violated at 12:08 a.m. on Saturday. In a video made public by the court and reviewed by both AP and AFP, Bolsonaro admitted to using a soldering iron on the device—out of what he described as “curiosity.” The footage showed the cap of the bracelet badly burned and heavily damaged, though still attached to his ankle.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers, however, disputed the sequence of events, claiming in a statement that their client never tampered with the device. Yet, a report by custody agents and Bolsonaro’s own admission in court seemed to undermine that defense. “How could something that was broken, violated, be functioning normally nine hours later?” Bolsonaro’s former press adviser and lawyer Fabio Wajngarten asked in a video posted on X, suggesting the device was still working as of Saturday morning. He added, “The president had dinner — a soup — yesterday with four brothers and brothers-in-law, took medication for hiccups, felt drowsy and laid down around 10 p.m. None of his sons were at the house.”
The preventive arrest was prompted by more than just the damaged monitoring bracelet. Justice de Moraes cited a protest vigil organized by Bolsonaro’s son, Flávio Bolsonaro, scheduled for 7 p.m. that evening. In a video urging supporters to gather, Flávio asked, “Are you going to fight for your country or are you going to watch it all from your cellphone in your home’s sofa? I invite you to fight with us.” De Moraes argued that the “tumult caused by an illegal gathering of the convict’s supporters has a strong chance of putting at risk the house arrest and other precautionary measures, allowing for his eventual escape.” The judge also emphasized Bolsonaro’s proximity to the U.S. Embassy—just 13 kilometers away—as a potential risk, noting the possibility that the ex-president might seek asylum there.
The situation has further inflamed divisions within Brazilian society. As federal agents escorted Bolsonaro to the police headquarters in Brasilia, a handful of his supporters gathered outside, singing evangelical hymns and waving the national flag. Flávio Bolsonaro appeared emotional, wiping away tears next to a cardboard cutout of his father. “I don’t know what’s going on inside the Federal Police now. If something happens to my father, Alexandre de Moraes, if my father dies in there, it’s your fault,” he declared in a live broadcast. Meanwhile, detractors of the former president celebrated, with some uncorking bottles of sparkling wine outside the jail. Ana Denise Sousa, a high school philosophy teacher, told AFP, “The biggest scoundrel, the worst guy … who screwed everyone over, who [attempted] a coup, who never felt pity for anyone – and now he’s going to pay.”
Bolsonaro’s legal team has vowed to appeal the detention order, describing it as “deep perplexity” and insisting that the vigil outside his home was a prayer gathering protected by Brazil’s constitution. They also argued that, given Bolsonaro’s health issues—he has a history of hospitalizations and surgeries stemming from a stabbing during the 2018 campaign—he should be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest. However, as reported by AP, Brazilian law requires all convicts to begin their sentences in prison, regardless of health status.
The charges against Bolsonaro are as grave as they come in a democracy. In September 2025, a Supreme Court panel convicted and sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic order after his defeat by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 election. Prosecutors alleged that the coup plot included plans to assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice de Moraes himself. Bolsonaro was also found guilty of leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the rule of law. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Justice de Moraes’s ruling also referenced evidence that Bolsonaro had previously considered seeking asylum in the Argentinian embassy in Brasilia, where his political ally Javier Milei is president. The judge noted that several other defendants and Bolsonaro’s political allies have already fled Brazil to avoid prosecution. “He is located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) away from where the United States of America embassy lies, in a distance that can be covered in a 15-minute drive,” de Moraes wrote in his decision.
The international dimension of the case is hard to ignore. Bolsonaro is a known ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who, when asked about the arrest outside the White House, said, “Is that what happened? That’s too bad.” Trump added that he had spoken to Lula the previous night and would be meeting him soon. Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau voiced concern over Justice de Moraes’s actions, stating on X, “There is nothing more dangerous to democracy than a judge who knows no limits on his power.”
Political analysts believe the arrest will have significant repercussions for Brazil’s political future, especially with the 2026 presidential election on the horizon. Creomar de Souza, a political analyst with Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, told AP, “They had the idea of turning the 2026 election into a referendum on Bolsonaro. And for that to happen they needed actions, they needed to build an optics of Bolsonaro as a martyr and an impactful popular leader. At the end of the day, this shows the Bolsonaro family they will need to build their own alternative for the 2026 elections.” With Bolsonaro now barred from running, the political landscape is set for a contentious and unpredictable race.
The Supreme Court is set to discuss and vote on the legality of Bolsonaro’s preventive arrest on Monday, November 25, 2025. Until then, the former president remains in a small holding cell at the federal police complex, equipped with a bed, television, air conditioning, and a toilet—far removed from the corridors of power he once commanded. Whether viewed as a martyr or a criminal, Bolsonaro’s fate continues to polarize Brazil, underscoring the deep rifts that have come to define the nation’s politics in recent years.
