🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

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

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building 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 Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.