🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

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 history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

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

But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.