Julia Carneiro

This closes a turbulent chapter after a historic trial in Brazil, which was condemned by the Trump administration and led to U.S.

sanctions and the unprecedented conviction of a former president for trying to overthrow the government.

For NPR News, I'm Julia Carneiro in Rio.

A Supreme Court panel with four justices voted unanimously to maintain Bolsonaro's preemptive arrest.

The far-right leader was detained over the weekend, hours after a vigil was called outside his home and he used a soldering iron to try to open his ankle monitor.

The court argued that tampering with the device indicated flight risk and a blatant violation of precautionary measures set by the judiciary.

Under custody, the former president told a judge he was having hallucinations after a change in medication and thought there was a wiretap in the ankle monitor.

Bolsonaro has been sentenced to over 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid.

For NPR News, I'm Julia Carneiro in Rio.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro told the judge he started tampering with his ankle monitor because he was having a nervous breakdown and hallucinating that there was a wiretap in the device, which he attributed to a change in medication.

Bolsonaro was arrested hours after an alarm was sent.

After being taken into custody, Bolsonaro told a police agent he had used, quote, a soldering iron out of, quote, curiosity.

He is since detained in a room with a private bathroom in the federal police headquarters in Brasília.

His defense lawyers alleged he was suffering mental confusion and asked for the Supreme Court to reconsider his house arrest.

For NPR News, I'm Julia Carneiro in Rio.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the preventive arrest order in the middle of the night, alleging flight risk.

The decision came a day after a vigil was called outside Bolsonaro's home, and hours after security agents received the alarm that Bolsonaro's ankle monitor had been tampered with.

Moraes cited both incidents in his order, saying the vigil could be a diversion for Bolsonaro to escape to a foreign embassy, citing that the U.S.

embassy was a 15-minute drive from his home.

Brazil's former president is now detained in a federal police base.