🔗 Share this article

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 sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.