🔗 Share this article Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a escape threat Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement. The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges. Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged. This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight. Judicial Records Show Escape Risks In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway". This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son. His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night. The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight 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 gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country." Diplomatic Refuge Fears Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said. The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home. Global Responses The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports. The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day. Recent Judicial Appeals It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices. They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems. Details of Guilty Verdict Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial. The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023. But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city. The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested. The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority. At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh. He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - 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 designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.