🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

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 house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

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