The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing

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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.

Tony Gonzalez
Tony Gonzalez

A historian and journalist specializing in royal heritage and luxury culture, with over a decade of experience covering European aristocracy.