Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.