Brazil’s former president arrested on suspicion of being a flight risk

Jair Bolsonaro was detained under house arrest after being judged to pose a ‘specific flight risk’.

The right-wing former Brazilian president was found guilty in September of plotting a military coup and sentenced to more than 27 years in prison, but remains under house arrest pending his appeal.

Brazil’s Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes said the detention of the 70-year-old was a precautionary measure after “new facts” came to light.

Bolsonaro admitted he tried to open the ankle monitor with a soldering iron but did not want to remove it.

Court officials said he wanted to use the planned rally outside his home as cover for his release, a claim his lawyer denied.

In a document approving the arrest, Judge Moraes said information from the center that monitors Bolsonaro’s house arrest suggests the former president “intended to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure a successful escape.”

This, he said, “will be fueled by the chaos caused by the protests called by my son.”

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro called for a gathering of his supporters near his father’s home on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media Friday: “Are you going to fight for your country, or are you going to sit on the couch and watch it all on your phone? We’re going to fight with you, and we invite you to join us.”

He said the rally would allow his supporters to pray for his health and the return of democracy to our country.

To explain his decision, Judge Moraes cited Bolsonaro’s “history of planning to apply for asylum through diplomatic representatives” and the possibility of him fleeing to a foreign embassy.

Court documents say the U.S. Embassy in the capital Brasilia is located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Bolsonaro’s home.

Bolsonaro’s legal challenges have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist U.S. President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held at a Brasilia police station and is scheduled to be arraigned on Sunday.

It was just Friday that the former president’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his entire sentence under house arrest with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for treatment, saying he needs regular treatment for lung infections and other illnesses.

Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Paulo Cunha Bueno, told reporters outside the federal police headquarters that concerns about his ankle monitor were “a story trying to justify the unjustifiable.”

“Bolsonaro did not want to escape from his home in any way. Armed federal agents are patrolling his door 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he added.

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court judges said he was aware of the plot, which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alcmin, and to arrest and execute Moraes, who has been overseeing Bolsonaro’s trial.

The plot failed to win the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula took office without incident on January 1, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed a government building in Brasilia. Security forces intervened and about 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the rioters were incited by Bolsonaro and were plotting to have the military intervene and return Bolsonaro to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro’s lawyers evaluated the 27 years and 3 months sentence as ‘absurdly excessive.’

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060, eight years after his sentence expired.

The former president called the trial a “witch hunt” and said it was designed to prevent him from running for president in 2026.