🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.