🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

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

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.