🔗 Share this article

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

The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

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

The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.