🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.