Brasilia, BRAZIL — Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday left his home in Brasilia where he is under house arrest to undergo a medical procedure at a nearby hospital, his first public appearance since he was handed a 27-year-long prison sentence.
On Thursday, a panel of Supreme Court justices ruled that Bolsonaro had attempted a coup and tried to illegally hang onto power despite his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Escorted by police, Bolsonaro went to the DF Star hospital in Brazil’s capital for procedures related to skin lesions — a temporary release granted by Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Sept. 8.
He is due to be discharged on Sunday.
The 70-year-old far-right politician was placed under house arrest in early August, after de Moraes said that Bolsonaro had violated precautionary measures imposed on him in the context of the coup trial. He had already been wearing an ankle monitor.
In late August, de Moraes increased security measures further and ordered that police conduct inspections of all vehicles leaving Bolsonaro’s residence and monitor the exterior of the house.
After the medical visit, Bolsonaro must file a certificate of attendance, indicating the date and times of the appointments, to the Supreme Court.
Bolsonaro’s son Carlos took to social media to complain about what he deemed to be excessive policing around his father’s trip to the hospital.
“I’m with my father and witnessing the continuation of the biggest circus in Brazilian history,” he wrote on X. “A convoy with more than 20 men ostensibly armed with rifles (…) just to promote the humiliation of an honest man.”
Die-hard supporters of Bolsonaro awaited the ex-president when he arrived at the hospital on Sunday and greeted him with shouts of “Amnesty now!” The chant is in reference to the push of Bolsonaro’s allies in Congress to grant the former president some kind of amnesty.
“We’re here to provide spiritual and psychological support,” said Deusélis Filho, 46, the president of a group of Bolsonaro supporters called Influencers of Brazil.
Thursday’s sentence doesn’t mean that Bolsonaro will immediately go to prison. The court panel has now up to 60 days to publish the ruling. Once it does, Bolsonaro’s lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.
His lawyers have said that they will try to appeal both the conviction and sentence before the full Supreme Court of 11 justices, although some experts think it’s unlikely to be accepted.
International interest in Bolsonaro’s trial increased after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil, citing what he called a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.
After Thursday’s ruling, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that Trump’s government “will respond accordingly.”
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry called Rubio’s comments an inappropriate threat that wouldn’t intimidate the government, adding that the country’s judiciary is independent and that Bolsonaro was granted due process.
___
Eléonore Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.
