The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a flight risk

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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

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

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.

Heather Dickson
Heather Dickson

A digital strategist and tech writer passionate about emerging technologies and their impact on society, with over a decade of industry experience.