Bolsonaro detained after being declared a risk of fleeing

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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.

Patricia Vega
Patricia Vega

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