The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing

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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.

Lydia Andrade
Lydia Andrade

Lena Visser is a digital marketing strategist with 10 years of experience in content optimization and brand development.