Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a escape threat

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

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

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

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.