Bolsonaro detained after being declared a risk of fleeing

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

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

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

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

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.