🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.