Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

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

He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

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

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.