Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat

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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.

Andrea Hill
Andrea Hill

A software engineer and tech writer passionate about AI ethics and open-source projects, with over a decade of industry experience.