Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk

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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

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 encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.

Lisa Armstrong
Lisa Armstrong

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos, specializing in slot game mechanics and player psychology.