Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a escape threat

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

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

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from running for public 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 participating in the next presidential race.