Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a risk of fleeing

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.