Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The former head of state 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 home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.