🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.