🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

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

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

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.