The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a flight risk

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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his move to embassies 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 highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

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

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.

Renee Schwartz
Renee Schwartz

A seasoned digital strategist specializing in SEO and content marketing for over a decade.