The former Brazilian president arrested after being deemed a escape threat

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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

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

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.

Jeremiah Chavez
Jeremiah Chavez

Meteoróloga apasionada con más de una década de experiencia en análisis climático y divulgación científica.