The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk

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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.

Felicia Sandoval
Felicia Sandoval

A seasoned journalist with over a decade of experience covering UK politics and social affairs, known for her insightful analysis and engaging storytelling.