US Embassy in Brazil criticizes Bolsonaro’s arrest: ‘Provocative and unnecessary’

The United States embassy in Brazil criticized the arrest of former president Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday night (22). The publication, made on X, specifically targeted STF minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the coup plot process and judge responsible for determining Bolsonaro’s preventive detention. “Judge Moraes, a sanctioned human rights violator, has exposed Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court to shame and international discredit by disregarding traditional norms of judicial self-restraint and blatantly politicizing the judicial process. The United States is deeply concerned about his most recent attack on the rule of law and political stability in Brazil: the provocative and unnecessary arrest of former President Bolsonaro, who was already under house arrest under heavy surveillance and with strict communication restrictions. There is nothing more dangerous to democracy than a judge who recognizes no limits to his power.” The text published in X was a translation of an original post by Chistopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of State of the United States. BBC News Brasil contacted the United States Embassy to ask whether the American government would maintain its position in light of the new elements mentioned in the Brazilian court decision — including the record of violation of the electronic ankle monitor and statements by the former president himself about the episode —, but had not yet received a response until the last update of this report. Federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro published a message in English addressed to Christopher Landau, in which he thanks the support of American authorities and harshly criticizes Brazilian institutions. He wrote, originally in English: “Thank you very much for your attention and support in this fight for freedom in Brazil, Congressman Christopher Landau. At this stage, just as we see in Nicaragua and Venezuela, there is no longer any real expectation that justice will come from within Brazilian institutions. They have been consumed by the same virus of censorship, fear and arbitrariness. Yet, regardless of what happens, we will remain steadfast. We will continue to do what is right, because this fight is not just for today, but for generations to come.” Last Saturday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, was questioned by reporters about the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro. Trump, however, said he was not aware of the latest events in Brazil. “Is that what happened? It’s a shame,” said the American president when informed by journalists that Bolsonaro had been arrested. What Moraes says in Bolsonaro’s arrest order Alexandre de Moraes points out in Bolsonaro’s new arrest order that calling for a vigil for his son Flávio could generate crowds capable of hindering police supervision and the application of judicial decisions. According to the decision, the call for the vigil was interpreted as part of a strategy to “harm compliance with possible legal measures” and “hinder the application of criminal law” in the hours before the possible final judgment of the conviction. In other words, when there are no more possible resources for the defense and the sentence must be carried out. Furthermore, according to the decision, the occurrence of a violation of the electronic ankle bracelet used by Bolsonaro reinforced the understanding that there was an imminent risk of evasion. According to a document from the State Secretariat for Penitentiary Administration of the Federal District (SEAPE), the Monitoring System generated an alert at 00:07 on Saturday, indicating a violation in the device. The report indicates that the equipment showed “clear and important signs of damage”, with burn marks around its entire circumference, where the case was fitted/closed. Questioned by police officers who went to the former president’s residence to check what had happened, Bolsonaro confirmed that he used a soldering iron “out of curiosity.” Then the ankle bracelet was changed. For Moraes, the record “confirms the condemned man’s intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape”, supposedly facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called. Moraes also says that the former president could take shelter in the US embassy to avoid arrest. The location is about a 15-minute drive from Bolsonaro’s residence, highlights the minister. Bolsonaro is an ally of American President Donald Trump, and, in 2024, while he was still being investigated, he went to the embassy of Hungary, a country governed by another ally, Viktor Orbán, and spent two nights there. The former president’s attitude at the time raised suspicions that he might seek asylum to avoid pre-trial detention, which he denied. The minister also states in the order that the mobilization called by Flávio Bolsonaro is similar to strategies already used by supporters of the former president at other times, including the camps in front of barracks after the 2022 elections. According to Moraes, there would be an attempt to repeat this type of mobilization, which culminated in the attacks on January 8, 2023. The decision describes in detail the video published by Flávio Bolsonaro on the social network X, on which he calls on supporters to move to the vicinity of the former president’s residence. According to the document, Flávio stated: “Are you going to fight for your country or watch everything on your cell phone from the couch at home? I invite you to fight with us.” “With your strength, the strength of the people, we will react and rescue Brazil from the captivity it finds itself in today”, he continued. Also according to the order, the senator called for a “vigil for Bolsonaro’s health and freedom in Brazil”, scheduled for 7pm this Saturday, in the Jardim Botânico balloon, close to the condominium where the former president lives. The post, says the text, had already accumulated tens of thousands of views and thousands of shares. The decision also mentions the history of allies of the former president who left the country to escape justice. The cases of deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP), who went to Italy, and the former director of Abin and deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), who had recently left the country for the United States, are cited. Both were convicted in the same process that led to Bolsonaro’s conviction for an attempted coup d’état. The former president received a sentence of 27 years and three months in an initial closed regime. The arrest comes at a sensitive moment in the case. Bolsonaro had gone through successive phases of judicial restrictions, which began with precautionary measures such as the use of an electronic ankle bracelet, later converted into preventive detention served at home. Last week, the STF rejected the appeals presented by the defense, bringing the process closer to its final phase.

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