🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

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

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.