🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

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

International Reactions

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.