Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a risk of fleeing

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.