Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a flight risk

Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? 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 country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.