Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a risk of fleeing

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.