🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest 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 "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

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

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.