Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a risk of fleeing

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.