Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk

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

The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

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

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.