Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk

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

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.