🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.