🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

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

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch 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 well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.