Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

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

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

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.