The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk

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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.

Robert Spencer
Robert Spencer

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