Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk

The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

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 he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

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

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings 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 Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.