Former president Jair Bolsonaro’s return to the prison system was expected in the coming weeks, with the final judgment of his sentence to 27 years and 3 months in the coup plot. However, a series of events in the last 24 hours accelerated the action of Minister Alexandre de Moraes and the investigators, from calling a vigil in front of his condominium to the attempt, by Bolsonaro himself, to open his ankle bracelet.
The Friday that began with the visit of Nikolas Ferreira and a request from the defense for humanitarian house arrest, ended with Bolsonaro, according to himself, using a welder to try to open the equipment that monitors his location. In the early hours of this Saturday, Bolsonaro was woken up by Federal Police agents to execute his arrest order, one of the most dramatic moments of his political career.
GLOBO reconstructed, hour by hour, the already known events of Bolsonaro’s arrest. Follow below the chronology of the events that took Jair Bolsonaro from house arrest to the special cell at the corporation’s headquarters in Brasília.
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10:30 am – Visit and warning from Nikolas Ferreira
The former president received deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) at his home in a condominium in Jardim Botânico, in Brasília, where he had been under house arrest since August. The meeting had been authorized by the STF. After leaving the place, Nikola stated that Bolsonaro would have difficulty “staying alive” if he were transferred to the common prison system.
2:24 pm – Defense calls for “humanitarian house arrest”
Trying to anticipate a possible decision by Minister Alexandre de Moraes to make the conviction for the coup plot final. The lawyers cited the former president’s health history (skin cancer, complications from the stab wound and gastric problems) as justification, arguing that common prison would pose a risk to his life.
Reports from allies who visited the residence in recent days, such as deputy Marcel van Hattem (Novo-RS), indicate that Bolsonaro has been suffering from constant bouts of hiccups throughout the day.
4:54 pm – Flávio Bolsonaro calls for vigil
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Senator Flávio Bolsonaro published a video on social media calling supporters to a vigil in front of his father’s condominium. Under the act was scheduled for the following night.
Around 8pm – Family dinner
According to Fábio Wajngarten, an ally of the former president, Bolsonaro had soup with his brothers and brothers-in-law, took medication for his hiccups and retired at around 10pm.
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Around 11pm – PF requests preventive arrest
The Federal Police filed a request for preventive detention, arguing that the call for the vigil and the former president’s behavior represented a risk of escape and a threat to public order, requesting immediate transfer to the PF Superintendency.
00:08 on Saturday – Anklet violation
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The monitoring system The breach alert was interpreted by the authorities as an attempt to escape or render the equipment unusable, precipitating the dawn actions.
1h08 – Equipment change and confession
Criminal police officers went to the residence and questioned the former president, who admitted to having tampered with his ankle bracelet with welding. Bolsonaro said he started interfering with the equipment late in the afternoon. He was replaced and the raped person was sent to the Federal Police for examination.
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1h25 – PGR gives favorable opinion to the arrest
A few minutes after changing the equipment, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, issued an opinion in favor of preventive detention, citing the urgency and seriousness of the new facts.
Around 2am – Decision by Minister Alexandre de Moraes
With the request of the Federal Police and the agreement of the Attorney General’s Office, Minister Alexandre de Moraarguing the need to guarantee public order.
6:00 am – Preventive arrest carried out
By order of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the Federal Police carried out the preventive arrest warrant. Former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro was not at the residence, as she was traveling to Fortaleza for work.
Around 6:30 am – Arrival at the PF Superintendence
. He was allocated a special 12 square meter room (General Staff Room), recently renovated, equipped with a private bathroom, bed and air conditioning, similar to the one occupied by Lula in Curitiba. Deputy Hélio Lopes (PL-RJ), who was holding a prayer vigil at the door of the condominium, reported having seen the PF convoy leaving the place with the former president. Lopes moved on to head the Superintendency.
9h40 – Bia Kicis Barada
Federal deputy Bia Kicis tried to visit the former president at the PF headquarters, but was denied entry. To journalists, the parliamentarian complained of political persecution and injustice.
3:00 pm – Lawyer is prevented from entering
João Henrique Nascimento Freitas, defense lawyer and former advisor to the Presidency, arrived at the Federal Police Superintendency, but was also prevented from having access to the former president.
4:00 pm – Video shows moment in which Bolsonaro is confronted about ankle bracelet
A video attached to the process in which Bolsonaro responds in the Federal Supreme Court showed the moment when criminal agents questioned former president Jair Bolsonaro about damage to his ankle bracelet. The former president — according to him, out of curiosity.
