STORY: Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro said he tried to open his ankle monitor with a soldering iron, as the Secretary of State for Penitentiary Administration (SEAPE) said it’s shown in a video released on Saturday (November 22).

The judiciary said the video shows the right-wing leader's ankle monitor damaged while he is heard responding to an agent's questions.

Bolsonaro was taken into custody on Saturday after a Supreme Court justice cited an escape risk linked to a planned supporters' vigil, ending months of house arrest as he appeals a coup-plot conviction.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the detention, saying the gathering outside Bolsonaro's home could undermine monitoring and noting evidence of tampering with his ankle monitor the night before, according to a decision seen by Reuters.

Bolsonaro's lawyers confirmed the detention, citing the planned vigil as the main reason for Moraes' decision and noting they plan to file an "appropriate appeal." A federal police representative said Bolsonaro underwent custody intake examinations in Brasilia early on Saturday.

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SHOWS: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2025) (ORIGINALLY IN PORTRAIT) (SEAPE – Access all)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) AGENT AND FORMER PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO, SAYING (DIALOGUE RUNS OVER SHOT OF DAMAGED ANKLE MONITOR):

“AGENT: Device 85916-5. Did you use anything to burn it?

BOLSONARO: I stuck a hot iron on it here.

AGENT: A hot iron?

BOLSONARO: Curiosity.

AGENT: What kind of iron was it? A clothes iron?

BOLSONARO: No. A soldering iron, for soldering.

AGENT: A soldering iron? The one with a tip?

BOLSONARO: Yes.

AGENT: Okay. Did you also try to pull on the bracelet?

BOLSONARO: No, no, no, not that. I didn't break the bracelet.

AGENT: Bracelet apparently intact, but the case has been tampered with. What time did you start doing this, Mr. Jair (Bolsonaro)?

BOLSONARO: Late in the afternoon.

AGENT: Late in the afternoon? All right. Did this cover actually come off or not?

BOLSONARO: No. All good, everything's peaceful here.”