🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.