🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, 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 flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and return him to office.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.