By Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was taken into federal police custody on Saturday, his lawyer told Reuters, ending months of house arrest as he appealed a Supreme Court conviction for attacks on Brazil’s democracy.
Bolsonaro’s attorney Celso Vilardi did not give a reason for the detention. A person familiar with the matter said it was a preventative measure related to the terms of his house arrest.
A federal police representative confirmed Bolsonaro was undergoing intake exams in Brasilia on Saturday morning.
The former right-wing leader was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for to plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro was identified as the leader and main beneficiary of a scheme to prevent Lula from taking office in 2023.
However, the courts have still not issued a final arrest order in that case, as Bolsonaro has not exhausted the appeals process.
For more than 100 days, Bolsonaro has been under strict house arrest for violating precautionary measures in a separate case over allegedly courting U.S. interference to halt the criminal case against him.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who was friendly with Bolsonaro when they were both in office, has called the case a “witch hunt”. He imposed sanctions on Moraes, the justice overseeing it, and a 50% tariff on U.S. imports of several Brazilian goods, which he began to roll back this month.
While under house arrest, Bolsonaro was barred from using social media, but received visits from political allies. His defense is expected to seek permission for him to serve his sentence under house arrest, citing several health issues.
The former president, who was stabbed in the abdomen during a 2018 campaign event, has a history of hospitalizations and surgeries related to the attack.
Bolsonaro had previously been banned from running for office until 2030 after Brazil’s electoral court found him guilty of abusing his office during his 2022 re-election campaign.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Brad Haynes)
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