🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

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