🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

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

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

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.