Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk

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

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power 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 plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.