Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing

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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers 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 potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.

Gwendolyn Allen
Gwendolyn Allen

A technology consultant with over 12 years of experience in IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategies.