🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.