Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers 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 nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

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

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

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.