🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

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

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.