🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

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

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.