Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement 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 assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost 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 assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.