🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.