Minister of the STF rejected the thesis of a drug outbreak presented by the defense and based his vote on a technical report that points to deliberate intention in non-compliance with the precautionary measure
The minister of the Federal Supreme Court (), declared this Monday (24) that the former president acted purposefully by breaking the electronic monitoring equipment he was using. The statement appears in the judge’s vote during the trial in the First Panel of the Court, which analyzes the maintenance of the former agent’s preventive detention.
According to Moraes, the violation of the electronic ankle bracelet, which occurred last Friday (21), was not accidental. The minister maintained that Bolsonaro violated the provision “intentionally and consciously”, that is, with the clear intention of making the equipment unusable and failing to comply with court orders.
To support his position, the rapporteur cited the official report from the Federal District Penitentiary Administration Secretariat (SEAP/DF). The technical document proves that there was a deliberate action to interrupt monitoring, which constitutes, in the minister’s view, a continued disregard for the precautionary measures previously imposed.
Understand the case and legal terms
The expression “acting intentionally”, used by Moraes and common in legal vocabulary, means that the individual had the free and conscious will to carry out an illicit act. Unlike the “culpable” form (when there is no intention), intent presupposes that the author wanted the result — in this case, getting rid of monitoring.
Judgment takes place at the so-called virtual plenary of the STF. In this format, there is no face-to-face oral debate; Ministers cast their votes in the Court’s electronic system within a stipulated period. The session that defines Bolsonaro’s future is scheduled to end at 8pm this Monday.
Defense claimed ‘outbreak’
Moraes’ decision ratifies the preventive detention order served last Saturday (22). During the custody hearing held on Sunday (23), Jair Bolsonaro’s defense tried to justify the act. The former president admitted to having disabled the ankle bracelet, but claimed that the action was the result of an “outbreak” caused by the use of psychiatric medication, denying that he had the intention of fleeing.
However, in his vote this Monday, Alexandre de Moraes did not consider the medical justification. The minister focused on the former president’s confession of the act during the hearing. For Moraes, by admitting that he destroyed the equipment, Bolsonaro confirmed the commission of a serious offense and an “ostensible failure to comply” with court orders.
Given these new facts and the technical confirmation of the violation, the minister concluded that all legal requirements for the decree and maintenance of preventive detention were met.
