🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.