🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, 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 electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

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

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.