🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.