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

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

The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.