Bolsonaro detained after being declared a escape threat

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.