Moraes extends Bolsonaro's house arrest

Sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a coup plot, Bolsonaro served part of his sentence in a closed regime, but received the benefit of humanitarian home care on March 27, for health reasons.

The decision came after Bolsonaro gave a statement to the Civil Police of the Federal District about the weapon registered in his name and seized from one of his security guards during a blitz last week.

In the statement, which lasted around five minutes, the former president acknowledged that he was the regular owner of the pistol and said that he ordered the weapon to be repaired because he had found a fault, but that this would not have any correlation with the end of the domicile period.

According to Bolsonaro's defense version, the security team – without him knowing – removed the firing pin from the weapon and rendered it inoperative, in a measure to prevent accidents, as the former president uses psychiatric medications that can affect his cognition.

Oblivious to this maneuver, the former president would have noticed the problem and ordered the repair.

Even though Bolsonaro was convicted and is serving his sentence, there has so far been no determination by the STF regarding the delivery of weapons, cancellation of registrations or similar restrictions.

The 9 mm Glock pistol was seized last Monday (15) from military officer Estácio Leite da Silva Filho, Bolsonaro's security guard. He was approached in a traffic stop 33 kilometers from the former president's condominium.

Moraes ordered the defense to explain "the reason why the convicted man kept a firearm at home" and why, on the eve of the closure of the house, he had requested it be repaired.

According to the lawyers, "the sole purpose of delivering the weapons [to Estácio, for repairs] was to seek assistance in identifying the fault and carrying out the necessary maintenance."

As Folha showed, Moraes had been considering the possibility of renewing Bolsonaro's domicile for another 90 days, as he considered that custody was being carried out without complications, amid advances in coordination for the electoral campaign.

However, the case of the pistol seized in the raid raised an alarm in the minister. According to an interlocutor, Moraes' distrust also increased due to Estácio's behavior during the police approach. The PGR itself, however, understood that the case was not enough to remove the former president from the current regime.

Military police officer Davi Evangelista Alves said that the pistol was on the floor of the car and that, when he noticed it, "the driver suddenly closed the window." Furthermore, Estácio would not have responded straight away that the weapon belonged to Bolsonaro.

The version given by Estácio, on the other hand, was that he "immediately informed" that the weapon belonged to Bolsonaro and that he was taking the equipment for repair, planning to return it the following day.

Since benefiting from home care due to bronchopneumonia, Bolsonaro has been recovering without complications. He only returned to the hospital once, for shoulder surgery, not linked to the respiratory issue.

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