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Trump Ally Blames ‘Psychotic Attack’ for His Ankle Monitor Tampering

He has been under house arrest pending appeals, ahead of a 27-year prison sentence.

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro blamed a “psychotic attack” for taking a soldering iron to his ankle monitor, according to The Guardian. The devoted Donald Trump ally, 70, was sentenced in September to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup against his political enemies between 2022 and 2023. He was arrested at home after authorities detected that his device had been tampered with the day before, deeming him a flight risk. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest on the suspicion that he was planning to make a break for a foreign embassy in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, where he’s been living in a rented mansion. The Guardian reports Bolsonaro was expected to be sent to prison in the coming days and was under house arrest pending appeals. The former right-wing leader made claims about psychosis during a custody hearing. He claimed he broke into a “paranoia” due to medication, which made him adamant the monitor was “bugged,” only stopping using the soldering iron after “snapping out of it.” He was also recorded claiming he’d toyed with the device “out of curiosity.” “That’s too bad,” Trump said when told by reporters of Bolsonaro’s arrest.