Brazilian authorities have boosted security around the home of former President Jair Bolsonaro to prevent his escape from house arrest before Tuesday's trial. Bolsonaro is accused of plotting a coup attempt after losing the 2022 presidential election. Authorities allowed plainclothes police officers to set up outside the gated community in Brasilia last week. But on Saturday, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, allowed police to be stationed around Bolsonaro's house, per the New York Times.
Though Bolsonaro wears an ankle monitor, it does not convey his movements in real time, a police official tells the Times. Moraes noted the risk of escape through "adjacent properties on both sides and at the back" of Bolsonaro's residence. Police say there is no evidence of an imminent escape plan, but officials worry Bolsonaro could escape and seek protection at the US Embassy, which is just 15 minutes away by car. President Trump is a close ally of Bolsonaro and has called the case against him a "witch hunt." He's already imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods and sanctioned Moraes under a law usually restricted for those accused of "gross" human rights abuses, per the Washington Post.
Bolsonaro's trial is expected to be short. The evidence has already been debated. That means the five Supreme Court justices will read out their judgments after the prosecution and defense present summaries of their arguments on Tuesday, per the Post. "The possibility of imprisonment is very high," University of São Paulo sociologist Esther Solano tells the outlet. Though Bolsonaro supporters wearing Brazilian and American flags were observed protesting and praying outside his community, as the Times reported, "the Bolsonaristas have begun to realize that Bolsonaro is over politically," Solano says.
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