Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

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

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.