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

placeholder news image

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.

Jillian Mccarthy
Jillian Mccarthy

A UK-based interior designer and architecture enthusiast with over a decade of experience in modern home styling and sustainable design.