Brazil court orders house arrest for 10 convicted over Bolsonaro power-grab plot

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered house arrest for 10 people convicted of participating in a scheme to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro in power after his defeat in the 2022 election, tightening restrictions as authorities move to prevent further attempts to evade justice.

The ruling, issued on Saturday by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, followed the arrest in neighbouring Paraguay of Silvinei Vasques, a former federal highway police chief also convicted in the case. Vasques was detained while trying to board a flight to El Salvador using a fake Paraguayan passport and was extradited to Brazil late Friday, where he was placed in pre-trial detention.

Brazilian police said Vasques had removed his ankle monitor on Thursday and driven to Paraguay in a rental car.

The 10 individuals placed under house arrest had previously remained free while appealing their convictions. Until now, they were subject to lighter precautionary measures such as ankle monitors or nightly curfews.

In his decision, de Moraes said the group had helped plan the coup attempt, sought legal cover for it, or spread disinformation on social media to bolster Bolsonaro’s hold on power after his loss.

One of those targeted is Filipe Martins, a former Bolsonaro adviser. His lawyer, Jeffrey Chiquini, said on X that an appeal would be filed.

“Filipe Martins had been wearing an electronic ankle monitor until today and wasn’t allowed to leave his city,” Chiquini said in a video posted on Instagram. “So, what changed?”

According to federal police, cited by AFP, the court also banned the individuals from receiving visitors, using social media or contacting others under investigation. They were ordered to surrender their passports and firearm permits.

In September, Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro of conspiring to remain in power after losing the 2022 vote to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, sentencing the former president to 27 years in prison. Bolsonaro, 70, denies wrongdoing.

Another convicted figure, former intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem, has fled to the United States.

Bolsonaro himself has been in prison since November but has been hospitalised since Wednesday. After undergoing double hernia surgery on Thursday, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said he was being treated for persistent hiccups.

“It has been nine months of anguish and daily hiccups,” she wrote on social media.

The former president has suffered ongoing health problems since he was stabbed during a 2018 campaign rally.

The trials have gripped Brazil, where democracy was restored in 1985 after decades of military rule. Initially, US President Donald Trump described the case against his ideological ally as a “witch-hunt” and raised tariffs on Brazilian imports, calling the trial an “international disgrace”.

Washington has since softened its stance. Trump lowered tariffs on Brazilian beef and coffee in November, and earlier this month the US Treasury lifted sanctions against de Moraes and his wife as trade talks between the two countries continue.