The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being considered a flight risk

Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.