🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

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

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.