Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

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

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.