🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.