🔗 Share this article Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention. The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light. This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape. Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway". This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring. His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend. The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone 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 health and for the return of democracy in our land." Embassy Asylum Concerns Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said. The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling. Worldwide Consequences Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods. He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day. Recent Judicial Appeals It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices. They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems. Details of Guilty Verdict The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial. The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023. But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, the capital city. The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained. The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power. At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive. He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence. The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.