Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing

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

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.

Amber James
Amber James

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in SEO and content marketing, passionate about helping brands achieve online visibility.