Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro claimed that a drug-induced “psychotic attack” was the reason he tampered with his electronic ankle monitor. In testimony provided during a custody hearing, Bolsonaro stated he genuinely believed the device, which he is required to wear under house arrest, was secretly recording his movements and conversations.
The dramatic claim came one day after federal police arrested him at his Brasília home on suspicion of planning an escape to a foreign embassy to avoid his 27-year prison sentence for a failed coup. Authorities detected interference with his tracking equipment days before the arrest, seeing it as evidence of a premeditated plan to flee justice.
Bolsonaro provided details, admitting he used a soldering iron on the device before “snapping out of it.” Political analysts are deeply skeptical of his narrative, especially since it sharply contrasts with his earlier, much milder explanation of acting “out of curiosity.”