🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.