Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a risk of fleeing

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.