🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

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

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.