🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long 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 ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.