Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.