Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found 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 last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

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