🔗 Share this article

Jair 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 orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring 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 escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.