🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.