🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

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

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

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

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

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

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

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.