Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, detained after allegedly using a soldering iron on his court-ordered ankle monitor, argued Sunday that a state of "paranoia" had led him to tamper with the device.

The 70-year-old was taken to prison on Saturday from his home, where he had been under house arrest while appealing a coup-plotting conviction, after the Supreme Court deemed him a high flight risk.

The court sentenced Bolsonaro in September to 27 years in prison over a scheme to stop leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections.

The far-right firebrand has denied any wrongdoing and though he has already lost one appeal, he has until Monday for another challenge of his conviction.

During a hearing on Sunday in Brasilia, Bolsonaro stated he "expe

See Full Page