🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.