🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

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

The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.