🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.