A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor while he stands trial over an alleged coup plot following his 2022 election defeat.
The court imposed the monitor to enforce restrictions during the investigation, barring Bolsonaro from leaving home at night, using social media, contacting other suspects or speaking with foreign diplomats, according to the Associated Press. (RELATED: Liberal NGO Flees El Salvador Amid Law-And-Order Crackdown)
Bolsonaro called the order “a supreme humiliation,” telling reporters, “I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that.”
The 500-page complaint from Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, released Monday, accused Bolsonaro of orchestrating a calculated campaign “throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls, to incite insurrection and the destabilization of the democratic rule of law,” according to the AP.
Bolsonaro has rejected the allegations. In a video posted to X on Thursday and addressed to President Donald Trump, he called the case a “non-existent crime” and mocked the charge of a “coup d’état… with no troops, no weapons.”
Two days earlier, Bolsonaro he posted a clip of Trump him as the target of a “witch hunt,” telling reporters, “He’s not, like, a friend of mine,” but adding that he considers Bolsonaro “a good man.”
Bolsonaro also posted a letter from Trump demanding an immediate end to the trial and warning he would be “watching closely.” Trump further announced plans to imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil, explicitly linking the penalty to Bolsonaro’s prosecution, according to the AP.
If convicted of plotting a coup, Bolsonaro faces up to 12 years in prison, with additional charges potentially adding several more years to his sentence, the outlet reported.
