🔗 Share this article

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

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

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

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

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